- • - ' ' '''*.* J; I 



SERMONS 

PREACHED ON PLANTATIONS 

TO 

CONGREGATIONS OF NEGROES. 

BY THE 

Rsv. ALEXANDER," GLENNIE, 
Rector of All-Saints Parish. Waccamaw, So. Ca. 

\ 




CHARLESTON: 

PUBLISHED AND SOLD BY A. E 
No. 4 Broad-street, 

1844. 



4$* 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844, 
"by the Rev A. Glennie, in the Clerk's Office of the District 
of South- Carolina. 



ft I 



Miller & Browne, Printers. 



PREFACE. 



The following Sermons were written for the benefit 
of the Coloured 'portion of my flock. As the tvant of 
simple Sermons, suited to the capacities of the Negroes 
is frequently spoken of I have made this selection 
from among those which I have been writing for seve- 
ral years past, and publish them in the hope that 
Catechists and religious Masters may flnd them of 
some use. 

In conducting the worship of God upon plantations, 
my habit is, aftet concluding the service, to question 
the people assembled % on the Sermon which they liave 
just heard, which enables me to dwell more at large 
upefb matters briefly tout '.ted upon in the Sermon. — 
This practice, and, the frequent use of our Church 
Catechism, is, I need scarcely say, the most important 
part of the duty of those engaged in the instruction of 
the Negroes. 

A. Gf. 

All-Saints Parsonage, Waccamaw, S. C. 



Tais Profits of the Sales to be applied to trie African 
Mrasrorr of trie Protestant Episcopal Crmrcri. 



CONTENTS. 



SERMON I. — Christmas Day. 

page. 

1 Tim. i. 15, — This is a faithful saying, arid worthy of 
all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to 
save sinners. ------ 1 

SERMON II — Good Friday. 
Isaiah liii. 5.— He was wounded for our transgressions; 
he was bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement of our 
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. t) 

SERMON III.— Easter Sunday. 
Matthew xxviii 5, 6. — The angel answered and said 
unto the woman, fear not ye; for I know that ye seek 
Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here ; for he is 
risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord 
lay. 13 

SERMON IV. 
Eph. vi. 7. — With good will doing service, as to the 
Lord, and not to men. - 21 

SERMON V. 
Acts v. ii. — And great fear came upon all the Church, 
and upon as many as heard these things. - 28 

SERMON VI. 
James hi. 5 — The tongue is a little member, and 
boasteth great things. ----- 35 



vi. 



CONT ENTS. 



PAGE-. 

SERMON VII. 
Romans vi. 23.— For the wages of sin is death; but 
the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. - - - - - 41 

SERMON VIII. 

Matthkw xii. 46 to 50. — While he yet talked to the 
people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, 
desiring to speak with him, &c. - - - - 48 

SERMON IX. 
Matthkw xiii. 3. — And he spake many things unto 
them in parables, saying, behold, a sower went forth to 
sow. - - - - - 52 

SERMON X. 
Matthew xiii. 36. — His disciples came unto him, 
saying, declare unto us the parable of the tares of the 
field. - - - - 59 

SERMON XI. 

Matthew xv. 28 — Then Jesus answered and said 
unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto th^e 
even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole 
from that very hour. - - - 65 

SERMON XII. 
Matthew xviii. 1.— -At the same time came the disci- 
ples unto Jesus, saying, who is the greatest in the king- 
dom of heaven ? - - - - - -72 

SERMON XIII. 

Mat' hew xviii. 21 22. — Then came Peter to him, 
and said, Lord, how hall iuy brother sin against me, 
and I forgive himl tiii seven times ? &c. - - 77 

SERMON XIV. 
Matthew xxv. 13. — Watch therefore, for ye know 
neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man 
cometh. 3$ 



CONTENTS. 



vii. 



SERMON XV. 
Matthew xxv. 31. — When the Son of Man shall come 
in his glory, and all rhe holy Angel.-* with him, then shall 
he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be 
gathered all nations. - - - - 89 

SERMON XVI. 

Luke v. 12, 13. — And it cam" to pass, when he was 
in a certain city, behold, a man full of leprosy; &c. - 96 

SERMON XVII, 
Luke x. 37. — Then said Jesus unto him, go and do 
thou likewise. - - - - - -101 

SERMON XVITT. 

Luke xviii. 35—43. — And it came to pass, that, as 
be was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain bliud. man sat by 
the way side begging. &c. - - - 106 

SERMON XIX. 
John x. 27, 23. — My sheep hear my voice, and I know 
them, and they follow me : &c. - - - 113 

SERMON XX. 

John. xiv. 6 — Jesus saith ur.to him, I am the way, 
and the truth, and the life; no man cumeth unto the Father 
but by me. - - - - - - 120 

SERMON XXI. 
John xv. 4. — Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch 
cannot bear fruit of itself, excepi it abide in the vine : no 
more can ye, except ye abide in me. - 126 

SERMON XXII. 

Luke x. 38, 39. — Now it came to pas&, as they went, 
that he entered into a certain village: and a certain 
^oman,, named Martha, received him into her house, &c. 131 



Vlll. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

SERMON XXIII. 
Luke x, 41. — And Jesus answered and said unto her, 
Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many 
things: but one thing is needful. - - - - 138 

SERMON XXIV. 
John xi. 3, 4. — His sisters sent unto him, saying; Lord, 
behold, he whom thou, lovest is sick. When J esus^ heard 
that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the 
glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. 144 

SERMON XXV. 

John xi. 25, 26, 27 — 'Jesus said unto her, I am the 
resurrection and the life, &c. - 150 

SERMON XXVI. 

John xi, 43.— Jesus cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, 
come forth. - - - - - - 156 



SERMON t. 
CHRISTMAS DAY. 



1 Tim. i. 15. — This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all ac= 
. ceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 

Whenever we meet together for the worship of 
God, your attention is directed to Jesus Christ, the 
Saviour of lost sinners. The prayers which are 
offered up to God, are offered in the name of the 
same Jesus Chiist. At baptism you were received 
into Christ's holy Church, and were signed with the 
sign of the cross, in token that you should always 
confess the faith of Christ crucified, and should con- 
tinue his faithful soldiers and servants, unto your 
lives' end. You are invited to partake of the Lord's 
Supper, in remembrance of the body of Christ bro- 
ken for you, and the blood of Christ shed for you ; 
and also, that you may spiritually feed upon him i n 
your hearts by faith. You are taught to look to 
him, and him alone: to depend on him, and him 
alone : to pray in his name only for pardon and 
grace : to follow the footsteps of his most holy life : 
if, by the help of the Holy Spirit, you would so live 
in this world, as to have eternal happiness in the 
next. 

At this time especially, would I direct your at- 
tention to Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of sinners, 
because the Church now keeps in remembrance his 
coming in the flesh. This is Christmas day: the 
day on which Jesus Christ was born. What then 

A 



SERMON I. 



can we do better, at this season, than think and 
speak of the Lord Jesus Christ, for us men and for 
our salvation coming down from heaven, and being 
made man ] What can we do better, than give 
such attention to this, that we may live as his fol- 
lowers ought to live, and may become partakers of 
the salvation which he brought to man 1 

In my text, from St. Paul's epistle to Timothy, 
the Apostle tells us, in few words, why we must 
always be looking to Jesus : he says, "this is a faith- 
ful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ 
Jesus came into the world to save sinners." 

" Christ Jesus came into the world." Where 
did he come from ? Every tongue is ready to say, 
he came down from heaven. He said to his disci- 
ples, " I came forth from the Father." We read 
of him, in the Holy Bible, as the Son of God : the 
same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever : without 
beginning and without end : the mighty God : he is 
one with the Father and the Holy Ghost. From 
this state of glory and majesty did he come, when 
he came into the world to save sinners. What love 
ought we sinners to feel towards him ! And how 
ready should we be to shew our love to him by a 
willing obedience ! 

But in what condition did he come ? Did he 
appear in the world in a state of great power and 
glory 1 ? No: it is written, "the Word was made 
flesh, and dwelt among us." " God was manifest 
(i.e. he was seen) in the flesh." He who was God, 
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him 
the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness 
of men. You see how low our Lord Jesus Christ 
stooped, when he came to save sinners. He that 
was the Lord, in heaven, took the nature of man 



SERMON I. 



3 



on earth. And he did not appear as a great and 
rich man, but he took the form of a servant. When 
born of his virgin mother, he was laid in a manger : 
he spent all his days in a state of poverty : when 
going about preaching his gospel, he said of him- 
self, " the Son of Man hath not where to lay his 
head :" and you know what sorrow of soul, what 
pain of body, he endured. Is it not amazing, that 
the Lord from heaven should bring himself down 
so low as this, that he might save lost sinners 1 Oh 
if you feel this as you ought to do, the love of Christ 
will constrain you, not only to trust in him as your 
Saviour, but also to be obedient to him as your 
Lord and Master. 

When our Lord Jesus Christ came from heaven, 
and humbled himself so greatly, he came " to save 
sinners." You know that our first parents, Adam 
and Eve, were made holy and happy, in the image 
and likeness of God. When tempted by the devil, 
they fell from that holy state, and became sinners : 
they broke the law of God, and their hearts became 
inclined to evil rather than good : they fell into a 
state in which they were subject to the anger of 
God, and to endless punishment in hell. All man- 
kind are descended from them : all are born in sin: 
and if it were not for the love and mercy and good- 
ness of God, all would live in sin, and would suffer 
the pains of hell forever. But Christ Jesus came 
into the world to save sinners : to save them from 
living in sin in this world, and from suffering the 
pains of hell which their sins deserve. For this 
purpose he took the body of a man, that he might 
in that body suffer the punishment which men de- 
served, set them free from the anger of God, and 
open a way by which they might again become holy 



4 



SERMON I. 



]ike God, and fit for heaven. He died upon the cross 
a sin-offering for the whole world : on him the sin 
of all people was laid, that all people through him 
might become clear of the guilt and punishment of 
sin. And the Bible teaches us, that if any will re- 
pent of their sins, and believe in him who so died 
for them, for his sake their sins shall be forgiven ; 
for his sake they shall receive the gift of the Holy 
Spirit, to make their hearts holy and clean, and to 
help them to walk obediently in the way of God's 
commandments. 

Thus it was, that Christ Jesus came into the 
world to save sinners ; and there is no way in which 
we can be saved but through him ; it is his blood 
which cleanseth from all sin : it is his Spirit which 
makes us new creatures, teaches us to repent of 
our sins, and to trust in him, and enables us to lead 
a new life. 

That Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
sinners, is a faithful saying : thanks be to God that 
it is so. The Bible, the holy word of the God of 
truth, is full of this matter. Let us thankfully take 
it home to our hearts, and learn and love the truth 
as it is in Jesus. 

This saying is also worthy of all acceptation: it 
is worth every one's while to receive it, and live 
upon it : it is indeed most worthy, for if any are so 
foolish as not to receive Jesus for their Saviour, 
they must be lost forever ; there can be no hope for 
them. 

Now do you, all of you, my brethren, receive this 
saying, that Christ Jesus came into the world to 
save sinners ! Do you receive this, and live accor- 
ding to it, in the hope of going to heaven ] Do you 
look upon yourselves as among the sinners that Je- 



SERMON I. 



5 



sus came to save ; and in consequence, are you so 
repenting of your sins as to forsake them ] Do you 
kneel down upon your knees every day before the 
holy God, and confess to him that you are misera- 
ble sinners, deserving his anger ; and at the same 
time look to Jesus who was crucified for you, and 
pray that for his sake your sins may all be forgiven, 
that they may all be blotted out in his most preci- 
ous blood 1 Is it your care too to pray, that the 
Holy Spirit may abide in your hearts, making you 
faithful followers of Jesus Christ, willing servants 
of God, obedient to him in all things ] 

This is what you ought to be doing, if you would 
have your souls to be saved. This is what you 
ought to be doing, if you would have Jesus Christ 
to save you from living in sin in this world, and from 
suffering the punishment which your sins deserve in 
the next. Seriously think of these things, I pray 
you : and may God bless you, and make you true 
followers of Jesus Christ, who came into the world 
to save sinners. 



A3 



SERMON li. 
GOOD FRIDAY. 



Isaiah liii. 5.— He was wounded for our transgressions; he 
was bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement of our peace was 
upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 

In this chapter the Prophet Isaiah speaks of our 
blessed Saviour Jesus Christ, dying for our sins. 
This prophet lived seven hundred years before our 
blessed Saviour so humbled himself, as to come 
down from heaven, to be " made in the likeness of 
men." But the Holy Ghost taught him to speak, 
so many years before, of oar Lord Jesus Christ. 
And by this divine teaching, he was enabled to tell 
of our Saviour's wonderful birth, and of all he 
should do, and teach, and suffer, when he should 
come into the world to save sinners. 

In the verse which I just now read to you, the 
Prophet declares how our Saviour died for our 
sins, and how we are made clean from sin through 
his great sufferings and death. I desire now to 
speak to you upon this subject, because this day is 
Good Friday, the day on which our Lord gave his 
life for the life of the world. And in doing this, I 
cannot do better than go through the account of our 
Saviour's sufferings and death, which we have in 
the New Testament. 

The Jews had a feast, called the feast of the 
Passover, which they kept every year at this season, 
in remembrance of their deliverance out of Egypt ? 



SERMON" II. 



7 



by the hand of God, in the days of Moses. Oar 
Lord Jesus Christ was keeping this feast along 
with his twelve disciples, for the last time, when, 
knowing that in a few hours his body would be 
broken and his blood shed, " he took bread, and 
when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave it 
to his disciples, saying, take, eat, this is my body, 
which is given for you : do this in remembrance of 
me. Likewise after supper, he took the cup ; and 
when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, say- 
ing, drink ye all of this : for this is my blood of the 
New Testament, which is shed for you, and for 
many, for the remission of sins : do this, as oft as 
ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me." In this 
way did our Lord ordain the Sacrament of the 
Lord's supper : and " the holy Church throughout 
all the world" is continually, by means of this holy 
Sacrament, " shewing the Lord's death," and will 
continue to do so " till he come" again. 

After thus instituting the Lord's supper, he went 
out of Jerusalem along with his disciples, and en- 
tered into a garden called Gethsemane. He there 
said to them " my soul is exceeding sorrowful, 
even unto death :" and he was withdrawn from 
them a little way, and kneeled down, and prayed, 
saying, " Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this 
cup pass from me : nevertheless, not as I will, but 
as thou wilt." He prayed in this way three times, 
44 and being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, 
and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood 
falling down to the ground." 

How great were the sorrows of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, even before he was crucified ! How was his 
soul pierced through with sorrows ! and do we ask 
why he thus " began to be sorrowful and very 



s 



SERMON H. 



heavy ?" Sin was the cause of his bitter sorrow. 
" The Lord laid on him the iniquities of us all." 
Oh think of his sorrows, of his agony of soul and 
bloody sweat, and see the hateful nature of sin. 
Look to Jesus, suffering so much for you ; mourn 
for your sins, and cry for mercy through him. 

After our Lord had prayed thus, and had endured 
this agony of soul, Judas, the wicked disciple, who 
had gone away to the chief priests and elders of 
the Jews, came with a company of men to take 
him. And what did this wicked traitor do ? He 
acted as if he bad been a dear friend ; he came to 
him and said, " hail Master !" and kissed him. Oh 
what a wretched condition this man was in ! He 
suffered the devil to enter into him ; and was then 
brought to do this most wicked deed. Let us 
watch and pray, lest we fall into temptation as he 
did, and betray our Lord and Master. 

Jesus Christ permitted his enemies to take him ; 
who bound him, and led him away first to the High 
Priest, and then to Pontius Pilate, the governor. 
They set up false witnesses against him, and ac- 
cused him of many things, wishing to have him 
crucified. But Jesus answered not a word : as it 
had been written of him by the Prophet Isaiah, 
seven hundred years before, " he was oppressed, 
and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth ; 
he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a 
sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened 
not his mouth." 

Pilate saw that he had done nothing amiss, and 
that the Jews were full of malice and envy : and he 
wished to let him go ; but they kept crying out, 
" let him be crucified ;" they also begged Pilate to 
release to them Barabbas, who was a thief and a 



SERMON IT, 



9 



murderer, instead of Jesus. And at last they pre- 
vailed upon Pilate to do as they desired, and he 
gave him up to be crucified. But while they were 
accusing him, and before they led him away to 
crucify him, they treated him most shamefully. 
They spit in his face, and beat him with their 
hands ; they scourged him, making long furrows in 
his back with the whip ; they dressed him up in a 
purple robe, and mocked him; they put a crown 
of thorns abbut his head, and beat him on the head 
with a reed. How grievous were the sufferings of 
our dear Lord ! But when you think of all the 
shame he endured, and the pain which he was 
made to feel : remember that sin was the cause of 
all his sorrows ; be filled with godly sorrow on 
account of your many sins ; and cry for mercy 
through him, who so loved you as to suffer so much 
to save you. 

After they had mocked the patient Jesus, and 
had acted towards him so cruelly, they led him 
away, and made him carry the cross to which they 
were going to nail him. But we may well suppose 
that after all their cruel treatment of him, he was 
not able to carry so great a weight : they therefore 
made a man that they met take the cross and carry 
it after Jesus, When they had gone out of Jeru- 
salem, to a place called Golgotha, there they cru- 
cified him, nailing him by his hands and his feet to 
the cross, and leaving him to hang in this most 
painful state. Oh what a sad sight was that ! But 
remember that " he bore our sins in his own body 
on the tree :" remember this ; and mourn over 
your many sins. 

The Jews, to try and make it appear that he 
was the chief of sinners, crucified two thieves along 



to 



SERMON ri. 



with him, placing Jesus between them. To such 
a length did the wickedness of their hearts carry 
them : and so low did our Lord Jesus Christ stoop to 
save us miserable sinners. But did the holy Jesus 
complain'? Had he any hard feelings against these 
wicked men ? No : he prayed for his murderers : 
he said " Father, forgive them, for they know not 
what they do." What an example is this my 
brethren ! you say that you believe he died to save 
you : see that you follow this example, and from 
your hearts forgive every one who may offend you ; 
praying to God to forgive them, even as you hope 
He will forgive you. 

After they had nailed him to the cross, do you 
suppose that the Jews stopped persecuting him 1 
No : it is written that they reviled him, they mocked 
him, they derided him, as if they took pleasure in 
his sufferings. But " when he was reviled, he re- 
viled not again, when he suffered, he threatened 
not; but committed himself to Him that judgeth 
righteously." Oh let us pray much for the Holy 
Spirit, that we may have the same mind which was 
in him. 

But now a most wonderful thing happened. 
Although it was the middle of the day, there was 
darkness over all the land, which lasted for three 
hours : there was also an earthquake, and the rocks 
were broken, and the vail of the temple was rent in 
two. Thus the sun in the heavens withdrew its 
light, and the earth was moved, when the Son of 
God was hanging upon the cross. And shall we 
hear of these things without being moved in our 
hearts ] Let us rather pray that our hearts may be 
pierced with sorrow for our sins, as our sins added 
so much to his sorrows. 



SERMON II. 



11 



After enduring the pain of the cross for three 
hours, Jesus cried with a loud voice, " My God, 
my God, why hast thou forsaken me." Surely the 
sin of the world, and God's anger against sin, was 
grievously oppressing him, when the bitter sorrow 
of his soul made him cry out thus ! After this, 
Jesus said, I thirst : and one standing by, filled a 
sponge with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and put 
it to his mouth : and when he had received the 
vinegar, he said, "it is finished:" every thing is 
done to take away the sin of the world, and recon- 
cile man to God. " It is finished ;" my body is 
broken for the sin of man, my blood is shed to 
wash away man's guilt, and now " the kingdom of 
heaven is open to all believers." When our Lord 
had cried again with a loud voice, he said, " Father, 
into thy hands I commend my spirit :" and having 
said thus, he bowed his head, and died. 

Such, my brethren, is a short account of what 
our Saviour suffered, when he came into the world 
to save sinners. And in thinking of his sufferings 
as you all ought to do continually, think of the love 
of Christ in coming from heaven and giving him- 
self to so many sorrows for sinful man. God so 
loved the world, as to send his own dear Son to be 
the Saviour of the world. The Son of God so 
loved us, as to come and take our nature upon 
him, and die the painful death which I have been 
describing to you. Think of this, and adore him, 
who so loved us. 

Again. You know that it was for sin our Sa- 
viour died. " He was wounded for our trangres- 
sions; he was bruised for our iniquities." You 
say that you believe this. But will he save one of 
you, unless you so repent of your sins, as to for- 



12 



SERMON II. 



sake them and lead a new life 1 He surely will 
not. And if you are not careful to keep the solemn 
promises which you made at your baptism, praying 
always for the gift of the Holy Spirit to help you, 
your belief in the death of Jesus Christ for the sin 
of the world, instead of doing you good, would only 
increase your condemnation in the day of judg- 
ment. As then you know what great sufferings 
Jesus Christ endured to save you from living in 
sin, and from going to hell : Oh shew your love to 
him by giving up whatever is sinful, and walking 
daily in the way of God's commandments. Watch 
and pray that you may do so, and then you will 
surely find that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth 
from all sin : that he is your strength, and comfort, 
and hope now ; and will be hereafter your exceed- 
ing great reward. 



SERMON 111. 

EASTER SUNDAY. 



Matthew xxviiL 5, 6. — The angel answered and said unto the 
woman, fear not ye ; for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was 
Crucified. He is not here ; for he is risen, as he said* Come, 
see the place where the Lord lay. 

At this season every year, we keep in remem- 
brance the death and resurrection of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ. As last Friday was the day 
on which he died for the sin of the wwld, we call 
that day Good Friday. You know that on the third 
day after he died, our Saviour rose up again. This 
great event happened on Sunday morning, the first 
day of the week ; therefore in the services of our 
Church on this day, which we call Easter Sunday, 
we keep in remembrance the resurrection of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I wish now to 
place before you what the Bible tells us about him, % 
after he had died upon the cross. 

About the time that Jesus died, the Jews, desi- 
ring that the bodies might not be hanging on the 
cross on the next day, which was their Sabbath 
day, begged Pilate " that their legs might be bro- 
ken and that they might be taken away." It was 
common to do this to those who w r ere crucified.- — 
" Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the 
first, and of the other which was crucified with him. 
But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was 
dead already, they brake not his legs : but one of 

B 



14 



SERMON III. 



the soldiers, with a spear, pierced his side, and 
forthwith came thereout blood and water." God 
had foretold of him, in the time of Moses, fifteen 
hundred years before, that a bone of him should 
not be broken ; and he had taught his Prophet Ze- 
chariah to say, six hundred years before, " they 
shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and 
they shall mourn. ,, How wonderful is God, to 
have foretold these things so long a time before, 
and then to have made them happen exactly accor- 
ding to his word ! Let us praise and adore him 
always. And when we think of our blessed Sa- 
viour hanging upon the cross, let us, by faith, look 
upon him who was pierced for our sins, and mourn 
for our many sins, which added so much to his 
grievous sorrows. 

After our blessed Saviour had died, and had been 
thus pierced wittuthe spear, a rich man, named 
Joseph, of the town of Arimathea, went to Pontius 
Pilate, and begged him to let him take away the 
body of Jesus, that he might bury it. Pilate, as 
soon as he knew that he was dead, gave him leave 
to do so, and commanded that the body of Jesus 
should be given to him. Joseph, when he had 
bought some fine linen, took the body down from 
the cross, and wrapped it in the fine linen, together 
with a quantity of spices : for that was the way in 
which the Jews prepared the bodies of their dead 
for burial. After this, Joseph placed the body in 
a new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock : it 
was a kind of cave, cut into solid stone ; and when 
he had placed the body there, he came out and 
rolled a large stone against the mouth or door 
of the cave. All this was done on Friday after- 
noon, and thus did God provide, that the body 



SERMON III. 



15 



which our Lord had taken, in order to redeem lost 
man, should be taken care of in death, and be de- 
cently buried ; he had foretold by his Prophet Isai 
ah that he should be " with the rich in his death." 

The next day was the Sabbath day among the 
Jews : and the Chief Priests and Pharisees, who 
had been so anxious to put Jesus to death, came 
together unto Pilate, saying, " Sir, we remem- 
ber that, that deceiver said, while he was yet 
alive, after three days I will rise again." You see 
here, my brethren, to what lengths the love of sin 
made these Jews go : they were so blinded by un- 
belief, their hearts were so hardened, that they 
called our blessed Saviour, that deceiver. O take 
care how you live : if you do not watch continually 
and pray for grace to strengthen and guide you, 
you will surely fall away from God. If you begin 
to grow careless about your souls, it is so easy to 
become worse and w 7 orse, that you cannot tell 
where you will stop, but will be in danger of pe- 
rishing. Let this then often be your prayer, — 
"from hardness of heart and contempt of thee, 
good Lord deliver us." 

The Jews went on to say to Pilate, " command 
therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the 
third day, lest his disciples come by night, and 
steal him away, and say unto the people he is risen 
from the dead ; so the last error shall be worse 
than the first." Pilate said unto them, " ye have a 
watch, go your way, make it as sure as you can. 
So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing 
the stone and setting a watch." These Jews, by 
fastening the stone upon the mouth of the sepul- 
chre, and by placing a guard of soldiers to prevent 
any one coming to it, intended to put a stop to the 



16 



SERMON III. 



religion of Jesus Christ at once: but God turned 
all their malicious doings to the advancement of his 
glory ; and by this great care which the Jewish 
rulers took to prevent any thing like deceit, we are 
made the more sure that Jesus rose again by the 
mighty power of God. And the Lord will always 
bring to nothing the plans of the wicked. They 
think themselves very wise ; they think that they 
can do this or that, just as they please ; but they 
forget that there is a God in heaven, " who order- 
eth all things according to his will ;" and sooner or 
later they are made to feel, that their wisdom is 
indeed foolishness. Learn then, my brethren, to 
live in the fear of God : if you seek and serve Him 
as you are taught in the Bible, he will surely save 
your souls alive ; but if you disobey Him, he has 
power to destroy you, both body and soul in hell. 

This sealing of the stone, and setting a guard of 
soldiers to w T atch that no one came to the grave, 
was done on Saturday, the second day on which 
the body of our Saviour was in the tomb. Very 
early the next morning, [Sunday,] the first day of 
the week, a number of good women came to the 
sepulchre. They had followed Jesus to the cross, 
and had witnessed his great sufferings there : they 
had seen where Joseph of Arimathea had laid his 
body ; and their love to him had been such, that 
they determined to show still greater respect to his 
body, by getting some more spices and anointing It 
again. So, very early on Sunday morning, having 
prepared the spices, they set out to go to the se- 
pulchre. On their way, " they said among them- 
selves, who shall roll us away the stone from the 
door of the sepulchre % for it was very great." But 
before they got there, a very wonderful thing had 



SERMON III. 



happened. " There was a great earthquake, for 
the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and 
came and rolled back the stone from the door, and 
sat upon it :" and then it was that the Lord Jesus 
Christ arose from the dead. But what became of 
the guard of soldiers who were set to watch the 
tomb] Could they prevent the earth shaking? — 
Could they keep the angel from coming down from 
heaven % Could they stop him while rolling away 
the stone ] Could they keep Jesus in the grave %— 
No : the Bible says, " the countenance of the an- 
gel was like lightning, and his raiment white as 
snow ; and for fear of him, the keepers did shake 
and became as dead men." And what can man do 
against God % Oh that all the wicked would think 
of this, and would turn without delay to Him with 
all their heart, and seek his mercy and grace 
through Jesus Christ. 

But though the angel appeared so terrible to this 
guard of soldiers, he said to these pious women,- — 
" fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus which 
was crucified. He is not here : for he is risen, as 
he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 
And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is 
risen from the dead." And as they were going, 
" behold Jesus met them, saying, all hail ! And 
they came and held him by the feet, and worship- 
ped him. ,, We are told also, in the Bible, that he 
remained upon the earth, after he rose from the 
dead, for forty days ; during which time he shew r ed 
himself to his disciples very often, and taught them 
many things concerning his religion, charging 
them to go into all the world to preach his gospel, 
and to baptize all people, and to establish his holy 
c 



18 



SERMON III. 



Church, which shall continue to the end of the 
world. 

Now, my brethren, this doctrine of the resurrec- 
tion of Jesus Christ, is one of the greatest impor- 
tance. He came, as we are taught, to die for the 
sin of the world. When he hung upon the cross, 
he bore in his body the sins of all people. But if 
we were not sure that he rose up again, we might 
fear that he had not been able to save us ; that 
death still had power over him, and that we could 
not escape the pains of hell. Now, however, as he 
rose from the dead on the third day, we feel sure 
that all that he did and suffered while he was upon 
earth, was quite sufficient to make peace between 
God and man. By the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ, we feel sure that he destroyed the power of 
the devil ; that he gained the victory over hell, and 
death, and the grave. By the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ, we know that his blood cleanseth from all 
sin, and that whosoever believeth in him, shall not 
perish, but have everlasting life. Oh what a com- 
fortable hope you may have in you, if you will only 
be true followers of him who died for us, and was 
buried, and rose again. 

We are also taught, that as Jesus Christ rose up 
from the dead, so shall all mankind rise up again in 
the last day. You, J my brethren, who are here met 
together, must, in a very short time, die : your bo- 
dies will, in the grave, turn again to dust, and your 
souls will go into the place of departed spirits ; but 
on the day of judgment, at the end of the world, 
your bodies shall be raised from the dead, and be 
joined again to your souls ; and how will you ap- 
pear in that day ] Shall you then inherit a bles- 
sing or a curse ] Shall you then be found fit for 



SERMON III. 



19 



heaven, or be condemned to the pains of hell ] This 
is what you should now be anxiously considering. 
You should often seriously ask yourselves, 1 where 
shall I be after the day of judgment V Such a 
question is always important, but especially so at 
this time, when we remember the resurrection of 
our Saviour. You are taught, that if, through his 
merits, you would rise up to glory at the last day, 
you must here, in this world, die to sin, and rise 
again unto righteousness. How often have you 
heard these words of the baptismal service : " re- 
membering always that baptism doth represent 
unto us our profession ; which is, to follow the ex- 
ample of our Saviour Christ, and to be made like 
unto him : that as he died and rose again for us„so 
should we, who are baptized, die from sin, and 
rise again unto righteousness ; continually morti- 
fying all our evil and corrupt affections, and daily 
proceeding in all virtue and godliness of living." 
You, who by baptism have been made members of 
Christ's Church on earth, and have been dedicated 
to the service of God, the Father, the Son, and the 
Holy Ghost, are here very plainly taught how you 
must be living, if you would be also members of the 
Church in heaven. You must " follow the exam- 
ple of our Saviour Christ, and be made like unto 
him." And how is this to be done ? You are here 
told, as Christ died for your sins, so you must die 
from sin — even as you promised to do ; when you 
promised to renounce the devil, the world, and the 
flesh. As Christ rose again for you, so you must 
rise up from the death of sin to a life of righteous- 
ness — even as you promised " to keep God's holy 
will and commandments, and to walk in the same 
all the days of your life." You must mortify, that 

D 



20 



SERMON III. 



is, put to death, all your evil and corrupt affections, 
all the bad desires of your hearts; and must daily 
proceed in all virtue and godliness of living ; must 
daily live more to the glory of our great God and 
Saviour. But you know, that of yourselves, you 
cannot do this. Such is the weakness and corrup- 
tion of your nature, that you cannot, without the 
grace of God, renounce sin, and lead a godly life. 
And when you are asked how you can believe and 
do as you ought to, you answer, " by God's help, 
so I will." 

Seek then His help — seek in diligent prayer the 
gift of the Holy Spirit, looking, with believing 
hearts, to the one Mediator between God and man, 
even to Jesus, " who died and was buried, and rose 
again for us and by the grace given to you, you 
will learn to forsake all sin, and to follow the ex- 
ample of Christ ; you will learn to seek those 
things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the 
right hand of God : you will learn to set your 
affections on things above, not on things on the 
earth : and when Christ, who is our life, shall ap- 
pear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory, 



SERMON IV. 



Eph. v*. 7. — With good will doing service, as to the Lord, 
and not to men. 

In this part of the word of God, servants are 
taught with what mind they ought to do their ser- 
vice. They are told to do what is required of them 
" with good will :" and to do it, " as to the Lord, 
and not to men." 

What a blessed book the Bible is, my brethren ! 
It speaks comfort to all people in every station of 
life : it shows how every one must live here, so as 
to please our heavenly Father. He, the Father of 
mercies, and the God of all comfort, has in his word 
forgotten none of the children of men. All may 
learn, from that holy book, how their souls may be 
saved, through the merits of the death of Christ. — 
And in addition to this, every one, in whatever con- 
dition he may be, will find in that holy book what 
his peculiar duties are. Thus, ministers are taught 
in the Bible, how they ought to preach the gospel, 
and how they ought to live, so as to glorify their 
Saviour Jesus Christ. The rich are taught in the 
Bible, how they must do good with their riches; 
and the poor, how they must be contented with the 
portion that God has given them : and both rich and 
poor are taught how to lay up treasure in heaven. 
Parents are told in the Bible, how they must bring 
up their children in the nurture and admonition of 
the Lord ; and children, how they must obey their 
parents. Masters are taught in the Bible, how they 



22 



SERMON IV. 



must rule their servants, and servants how they 
must obey their masters. Truly this holy word of 
God is a blessed gift indeed : and how greatly 
blessed shall we all be, if we diligently seek the 
help of the Holy Spirit, that we may be " doers of 
the word and not hearers only !" I will now read 
to you the whole of this passage out of God's holy 
word, which is written especially for your instruc- 
tion. " Servants, be obedient to them that are your 
masters according to the flesh, with fear and trem- 
bling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ: 
not with eye service as men pleasers ; but as the 
servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the 
heart : with good will doing service, as to the Lord 
and not to men ; knowing that whatsoever good 
thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of 
the Lord, whether he be bond or free." This pas- 
sage from the Bible shews to you, what God re- 
quires from you as servants ; and there are many 
other passages which teach the same things. You 
should try and remember these parts of the Bible, 
that you may be able " to do your duty in that state 
of life, unto which it has pleased God to call you." 
For although a bad servant may not wish to know 
what God requires of him, yet a Christian servant 
will desire to know this, and to do his will in every 
thing. 

Our Heavenly Father commands that you, who 
are servants, should " be obedient to your masters 
according to the flesh;" that is, to your earthly 
master, the master that you serve here while in the 
body. Here is a very plain command : " servants 
be obedient :" be obedient to your masters. A 
bad servant will not try and obey this command. 
A worldly minded servant, who is not living in the 



SERMON IV. 



23 



fear of God, will neglect this command. Bat you, 
who call yourselves children of God, will do his 
will and be obedient to your earthly master. You 
can every day give proof that you wish to serve 
God, by your ready, your cheerful obedience. 

You are here directed to be obedient to your 
master " with fear and trembling :" that is, you 
ought to feel so anxious to discharge your duty 
faithfully, as to feel afraid of giving offence by any 
conduct that looks like disobedience ; for, by dis- 
obedience, you not only offend your earthly master, 
but you sin against God, and of this every Christian 
servant will be afraid. A bad servant will be afraid 
only of the punishment which he will receive, if his 
disobedience should be found out. But a Christian 
servant must look up always to his heavenly Master. 
Therefore, if you love God, whose children you 
were made at your baptism, you will do every day 
all that you have to do, with fear and trembling; that 
is, in the fear of God, knowing that he would be an- 
gry with you if you neglected your duty. If you love 
the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed his blood for you, 
you will do your daily work with fear and trembling; 
lest, by any act of disobedience, you bring reproach 
on him whose name you bear. If you desire that the 
Holy Spirit should abide in your hearts, you will 
not willingly be disobedient, being afraid that this 
Comforter and Sanctifier would forsake you, if you 
paid so little attention to the plain word of God. 

You are here commanded to be obedient, " in 
singleness of your heart, as unto Christ that is, do 
not be double-minded, professing to be one thifcg, 
but really being another ; but in your duty to your 
master, have a single heart ; an honest, upright, 
and true heart, as unto Christ ; knowing that he 



24 



SERMON IV. 



sees your heart, and will not be pleased with dou- 
ble dealing. A bad servant does not follow this 
word of God at all. Instead of a single heart, he 
has a double heart. He is one thing before his 
master's face, but another thing behind his back. 
A bad servant, too, never thinks of living " as unto 
Christ/' He does not desire or try to be a follower 
of Jesus Christ, who died upon the cross for his 
sins. He turns his back upon the love of Christ, and 
will not seek him that his soul may be saved. You, 
however, who call yourselves servants of Jesus 
Christ, who have been baptized in his name, who 
often " shew his death" in the Lord's supper, will, 
if you are indeed his, do all your duty as to him — 
having a single heart, having this one desire, to be 
obedient in all things : and you should make it a 
part of your daily prayers, that by the help of the 
Holy Spirit you may glorify our God and Saviour 
by a simple obedience. 

This part of the Bible goes on speaking of the 
same matter in different words ; it gives " line upon 
line and precept upon precept ;" because it is what 
all of us ought to keep in mind, that we must en- 
gage in our several duties, with a desire to please 
God, and with a fear of sinning against him. It 
says, " not with eye service, as men pleasers, but 
as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God 
from the heart." Do not attend to your work only 
while your earthly master's eye is upon you ; but 
remember that the eye of your heavenly Master is 
always upon you : do your work as serving Christ, 
look upon your daily tasks as " the will of God," 
and do them " from the heart," with a hearty desire 
to please God. A bad servant is an eye servant, 
doing the work required of him, so long as his 



SERMON IV. 



25 



master's eye is upon him : he has no regard to 
Christ our Saviour ; and, instead of the will of God, 
he thinks only of his own will, and the desires of 
his own evil heart. But you, who profess to be 
" the servants of Jesus Christ," will, if you are in- 
deed his, do all your duty faithfully, whether the 
eye of man is upon you or not ; you will feel that 
such is the will of God ; and you will daily watch 
and pray, that by the help of the Holy Spirit you 
may "do the will of God from the heart." 

The word of God goes on teaching you the same 
thing. It says, "with good will doing service, as 
to the Lord, and not to men." A bad servant will 
very often do his service with a very bad will ; he 
will try many ways to deceive his master, and will 
do as little for him as he can. You, however, who 
call yourselves the servants of Christ," will, if you 
indeed belong to him, aim at doing your service 
"with good will;" you will pray that your will 
may be subject to the will of God, so that you may 
" do service" cheerfully, " as to the Lord, and not 
to men." 

This passage of Scripture ends by telling you to 
remember, that the day of judgment is coming, 
when everyone, in every condition of life, shall re- 
ceive according to what he has done in the body. 
It says, " knowing that whatsoever good thing any 
man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, 
whether he be bond or free." We are here told, 
that in the day of judgment, the inquiry will be : 
What have we done in this world ; how did we live 
in this world 1 It matters not, we see, in what 
condition we have been here : it matters not whe- 
ther we be bond-servants or free men : it matters 
not whether we be among the high and the rich, or 



26 



SEKMON IV, 



among the low and the poor : we shall in that day 
receive according as we now live. If we now live 
as obedient followers of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ, we shall, through him who loved us, inherit 
everlasting life. But if we are not true believers in 
him, if we are disobedient to his word, we can inherit 
only everlasting misery. With regard to you ; the 
disobedient servants amongst you, the unfaithful, the 
deceitful, the ungodly servants, unless they repent 
and turn from the service of the devil to the service 
of God, shall surely " be punished with everlasting 
destruction from the presence of the Lord, and 
from the glory of his power." Whilst the obedient 
servants amongst you, the faithful, the true, the 
godly servants, who are living " as the servants of 
Christ," " doing service as to the Lord and not to 
men," shall, if they continue steadfast unto the end, 
be blessed forever. 

As you ought to understand well what is the will 
of God respecting you, I will read to you again this 
part of the Bible. " Servants, be obedient to them 
that are your masters according to the flesh, with 
fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as 
unto Christ ; not with eye service, as men-pleasers, 
but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God 
from the heart : with good will doing service, as to 
the Lord, and not to men ; knowing that whatso- 
ever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he 
receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free." 

The great duty, my brethren, w r hich all of us 
have to attend to, is, to keep the Lord always be- 
fore us ; to live as in his sight— to act as his 
servants — to remember the account w r hich we shall 
all have to give before his judgment seat. Try 
and live in this way. Pray to God to teach you 



SERMON IV. 



27 



by his Spirit to look always to Him ; and think 
much of those blessed mansions of peace, which 
our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ is preparing for 
all who truly love and serve him. In this way you 
will learn to live happily, you will do all your ser- 
vice with good will, and "will run with patience 
the race that is set before you, looking unto Jesus, 
the Author and Finisher of our faith, who, for the 
joy that was set before him, endured the cross, 
despising the shame, and is set down at the right 
hand of the throne of God." 



SERMON V. 



Acts v. ii.— -And great fear came upon all the Church, and 
upon as many as heard these things. 

What things could these have been, which 
brought great fear on all the Church, and upon as 
many as heard them ] Perhaps if we have these 
things told us, some of us may learn to fear the 
Lord God more than we do. The things here spo- 
ken of are, the awful and sudden deaths of Ananias 
and Sapphira, for telling a lie. The story, as it is 
told in the Bible, is enough to fill our hearts with 
fear, before that great Being, " who is able to des- 
troy both body and soul in hell." I beg of you, 
therefore, to give close attention to what I now say, 
and see how much God hates a lie, and how surely 
he will punish those who love a lie. 

Soon after our Lord Jesus Christ had gone up 
to heaven, he sent down the Holy Spirit upon his 
Apostles, and his other disciples. After they had 
received the Holy Spirit, the Apostles began to 
preach the gospel, and to do many wonderful works 
in the name of the Lord Jesus. Many people were 
converted by their preaching, and the Church of 
Christ grew larger and larger every day. But many 
of these first Christians were very poor, and all 
of them were hated by the Jews and the heathen 
people, and were often persecuted, and treated 
very shamefully by them. Therefore, that the poor 
Christians might have food to eat and clothes to 
put on, and that they might be able to help one 



SERMON V. 



29 



another in times of persecution ; it became a com- 
mon practice, for those who had any property, to 
sell it all, and to bring the money to the Apostles : 
and the Apostles gave to those Christians who were 
in want. 

At the time that many were helping their poor 
brethren in this way, and were giving up every 
thing that they had, so that they might preach the 
gospel continually, without being hindered by the 
cares of this world, we are told, that " a certain man 
named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a pos- 
session, and kept hack part of the price; his wife 
also being privy to it; and brought a certain part, 
and laid it at the Apostles' feet." You see how 
deceitfully they acted : Ananias sold his land, and 
then he and his wife agreed together to keep back 
a part of the price of it : and they brought the other 
part, and gave it to the Apostles, as the whole price 
of the land. Oh how much sin there is in the heart 
of man ! As the Bible indeed says, "the heart of 
man is deceitful above all things, and desperately 
wicked." What could have made these people 
tell such a wilful lie ? Perhaps they wanted the 
praise of men, they wanted men to talk of them, as 
giving up every thing that they had to Christ : or 
perhaps they were covetous, and wanted to get 
something every day from the common stock, while 
they had something of their own too : however it 
was, they knowingly and willingly told a lie, and 
brought ruin upon their souls. 

We must suppose that they thought, that nobody 
knew it : it may be, that no man did know it. But 
does religion teach us to think only of the good 
will of man ] Far from it : it teaches us to keep 
the Lord always before us : it teaches us to drive 



30 



SERMON V. 



temptation from us, by saying, " how can I do this 
great wickedness, and sin against God t" And if 
Ananias and Sapphira thought that they could de- 
ceive man, could they deceive God ? No : to him 
"all hearts are open, all desires are known, and from 
him no secrets are hid/' He knew that they had 
agreed together to tell this lie. 

O how foolishly, as well as sinfully, wicked peo- 
ple act. They forget that the all-seeing eye of 
God is upon them, and that their sin will surely 
find them out. And on this occasion, the Lord 
taught his Apostle Peter, to see through the deceit- 
ful conduct of this man and his wife. For when 
Ananias brought him the money, " Peter said, Ana- 
nias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the 
Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of 
the land ] Whiles it remained, was it not thine 
own 1 and after it was sold, was it not in thine own 
power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in 
thine heart % thou hast not lied unto men, but unto 
God." 

What a word is this, my brethren ! " Why hath 
Satan filled thine heart V 9 This wretched man, 
when tempted to keep back part of the price of the 
land, did not resist the temptation, and the devil 
entered into him, as he did into the heart of the 
traitor Judas : he took full possession of him, and 
brought him to tell this lie to the Apostles, to men 
who were full of the Holy Ghost : and therefore, 
he lied, not unto men but unto God. Oh what a 
miserable condition wicked people are in! Satan 
fills their hearts : the devil has possession of them : 
they give themselves to serve him. Are there any 
of you in this sad condition 1 Is there one here, 
who is willing to live and die a child of the devil % 



SERMON V. 



Oh let it not be ! Think of the great love of our 
Saviour Jesus Christ, who came to destroy the 
works of the devil, who came and died to save us 
poor sinners out of his hand. Repent of your past 
sins: look to Jesus with believing hearts ; pray for 
the Holy Spirit to guide you to Jesus, that you may 
be turned from the power of Satan unto God. 

Those of you that will live without religion, that 
will commit any kind of sin, whenever your hearts 
tempt you to do so ; do you ever think who it is 
that you are wilfully sinning against ] What did 
St. Peter say to Ananias] "Thou hast not lied 
unto men, but unto God." Think of this, you that 
love the ways of sin. You have been fearlessly 
opposing the great and holy God. Ought not this 
thought to fill you with fear and shame and sorrow! 
And when you remember how good he has been to 
you, how he has borne with you, how he still lets 
you live, ought not his goodness to you, to bring 
you to repentance? It ought indeed. Oh let not 
his goodness be thrown away upon you, but rather 
turn to him and live. 

What happened to this wretched man Ananias, 
when St. Peter charged him with lying, not unto 
men but unto God] We read, "and Ananias, 
hearing these words, fell down, and gave up the 
ghost," While the words of the Apostle Peter, 
were still in his ears, he fell down before all that 
were present, and died : died with deceit in his 
heart : died with a lie in his mouth : died a willing 
servant of the devil, the father of lies. What a 
heavy judgment was this, my brethren! Does it 
not shew you how God hates a lie ] Does it not 
tell you that lying lips are an abomination unto 
him] Does it not convince you, that those how 



32 



SERMON V. 



continue to live guilty of this sin, shall be punished 
forever? What says the Bible about it? It is 
written, " all liars shall have their part in the lake 
which burnetii with fire and brimstone, " 

After Ananias had fallen down dead, we are told, 
that u great fear came on all them that heard these 
things. " Well might people fear at witnessing 
such a judgment as this ! And ought not you to 
try and keep the fear of God always before your 
eyes? Do not be tempted to say, as too many 
wicked people do, oh nobody will know it : nobo- 
dy will see it : remember that God is always look- 
ing at you. He sees all that you do ; he hears 
every word that you say ; he knows all that you 
think about ; and he can in a moment strike you 
dead : he is able to destroy both body and soul in 
hell. Knowing these things, fear him, so as not 
willingly to offend him, and seek his mercy and 
grace and love always, through his Son Jesus 
Christ, who died to make your peace with him. 

Ananias having died so awfully, "the young men 
arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and bu- 
ried him. 5 ' What a blessing it would have been, 
if the shocking sin of lying had been buried in his 
grave ; but too many persons follow his wicked 
example, instead of being warned by his miserable 
death. 

We are next told about his wife Sapphira. " It 
was about the space of three hours after, when hi3 
wife, not knowing what was done, came in." She 
came in, not knowing that the lie, which they had 
agreed to tell, had been found out, and that her 
husband had been struck dead so suddenly. "And 
Peter answered unto her, tell me whether ye sold 
the land for so much % And she said, yea, for so 



SERMON V. 



33 



much !" Poor wretched creature, she little thought 
that God, the searcher of hearts, had made known 
to Peter the lie that they had agreed to tell. As 
I have already said, the wicked always seem to 
forget that the eye of God is upon them. " Peter 
said unto her, how is it that ye have agreed toge- 
ther to tempt the Spirit of the Lord 1 Behold, the 
feet of them which have buried thy husband are at 
the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she 
down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the 
ghost : and the young men came in, and found her 
dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her 
hnsband." 

This, my brethren, is a most sad account. Here 
were a man and his wife, who by baptism had been 
brought into the Church of Christ : who professed 
to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ : and we 
find them yielding so readily to the temptation of 
the devil, and agreeing together to tell a lie, when 
they ought to have been helping each other to live 
as servants of Christ, of whose Church they had 
been made members. And how awfully did they 
die with a lie in their mouths. 

Let their sad history be a continued warning to 
each of you, " Satan filled their hearts to lie to the 
Holy Ghost.' ' What can save you from his power, 
but the grace of God ? Watch then, and pray, lest 
ye enter into temptation. Jesus has died for you, 
and promises to help you. His word is, " my 
grace is sufficient for you." While therefore you 
strive to speak the truth always, and to resist the 
devil in every way, look to Jesus, look to him for 
the forgiveness of your past sins : look to him for 
the grace and strength which you want ; without 
him you can do nothing, but you may do all things 



34 



SERMON v. 



through him who gives spiritual strength to all who 
call upon him. 

Again : I have already supposed that Ananias 
and Sapphira thought that nobody would find out 
their lie. Do any of you indulge in secret sins, or 
tell lies, deceiving your hearts, by thinking that no 
one will know it ? Do not go on living so : you can 
hide nothing from God, and if you are not found 
out in this world, a day is coming, the day of judg- 
ment, when the secrets of all hearts shall be made 
known; and how full of horror will that day be to 
you, if you go on in this world telling lies, or living 
in any kind of sin. 

My Brethren, the time is very short ; you do not 
know how soon your life may end. As long then 
as God, in his goodness, permits you to live, make 
the best use of your time. Repent every day of 
all your sins past; every day seek pardon and 
mercy, and grace from God, through the merits of 
his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord : give yourselves, 
through the help of the Spirit, to walk always in 
the way of God's commandments, and you may 
then hope, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, 
to meet your death in peace. 



SERMON Vi. 



James hi. 5. — " The tongue is a little member, and boasteth 
great things." 

What the Apostle St. James speaks of in this 
chapter of the Bible, is a great matter indeed.— 
Attend to me while I go through it verse by verse ; 
and pray God to give you his Holy Spirit, so that 
your ears may be open to hear what he says about 
the sins of the tongue. 

The passage begins with this saying, " in many 
things we offend all." This, we must know, is most 
true : " there is no man that sinneth not :" " if we 
say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and 
the truth is not in us." And you will be in a fair 
way to grow better, if with sorrowful hearts you 
can make this confession, and can cry to God in 
the name of Jesus Christ, " Lord have mercy upon 
us, miserable sinners." But after saying that we 
all offend in many things, St. James goes on to 
speak about one kind of sins ; sins which ate very 
abominable, and hard to be gotten rid of ; not too 
hard, however, if we diligently seek the grace of 
God. I mean the sins of the tongue. He says, — 
" If any man offend not in word, the same is a per- 
fect man, and able also to bridle the whole body." 
You see how important a thing it is to rule the 
tongue : he that does not offend in word ; he that, 
by the help of the Spirit, keeps his tongue from 
evil speaking, lying and slandering, and from all 



36 



SERMON VI. 



foolish talking, has gone on so far in the way of 
holiness, as even to be called a perfect man ; one 
who is able, through the same Holy Spirit, to serve 
God in every right way. If then you would have 
God to love you, as his dear children in Jesus 
Christ, watch against the sins of the tongue : pray 
without ceasing in the words of David, "Seta 
watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and keep the 
door of my lips." 

St. James next speaks of the tongue, being so 
small a thing, and yet doing so much mischief. — 
He compares it to a bridle and a rudder. A bridle 
is a small thing; yet, when put into a horse's 
mouth, the largest animal may be held with it, and 
we turn him about just as we please. So with a 
ship, the rudder is one of the smallest parts of it, 
yet, he that steers the ship has it in perfect com- 
mand, and can turn it one way or another, just as 
he pleases. " Even so, the tongue is a little mem- 
ber:" it is, indeed, a little member, one of the 
smallest in the body ; but small as it is, " it boast- 
eth great things :" it makes a loud noise, and has 
the power of doing either a great deal of good, or 
a world of mischief. Surely then a Christian ought 
to keep constant watch over that little member, the 
tongue. 

St. James then speaks of the tongue, as a fire, 
and says, 44 Behold how great a matter a little fire 
kindleth." Put a little spark of fire to any thing 
that will burn, and what a great blaze is soon 
made! " And the tongue is a fire, a world of ini- 
quity." It is, indeed, like a fire in this wicked 
world : the mischief done by one evil tongue runs 
like wildfire ; there is no knowing where it will 
stop. "So is the tongue among our members, 



SERMON VI. 



37 



that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire 
the course of nature; and is set on fire of hell." — 
What an account of the tongue is this, my brethren : 
but it is too true — the evil tongue " is set on fire of 
hell :" the devil entering into the heart, fills it with 
every bad passion, and the tongue gives vent to the 
wickedness conceived there. The heart is filled 
with deceit > and the tongue gives utterance to lies i 
the heart is filled with lust, and from the tongue is 
heard lewd and filthy speaking : the heart is filled 
with malice, and envy, and hatred, and the tongue 
shews it in quarrellings, and backbiting, and set- 
ting people one against another. Is it not so, my 
brethren ] You know it is. Perhaps you have 
suffered from the evil speaking of others ; perhaps 
you have, yourselves, been keeping alive this mis- 
chievous fire in the world, with that little member, 
the tongue. If you would be clear of these mon- 
strous sins ; look to your hearts ; out of the heart of 
man, says our Saviour, comes every kind of wick- 
edness : and if your hearts are changed by the 
Spirit of God, your tongues will cease to speak 
evil : if the love of God is shed abroad in your hearts 
by the Holy Ghost, given to you in answer to your 
prayers, out of the abundance of the heart your 
mouth will speak his praise. Learn then to use 
another prayer of David, " make me a clean heart, 
Oh God, and renew a right spirit within me." 

St. James goes on : u for every kind of beasts, and 
of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is 
tamed and hath been tamed of mankind : but the 
tongue can no man tame ; it is an unruly evil, full 
of deadly poison." Does not this cry shame upon 
us, my brethren, that we can take any fierce and 

E 



38 



SERMON VI. 



wild animal, and tame or subdue it; but we cannot 
tame the tongue of man 1 That we cannot tame 
and correct the tongue of the liar, of the blasphe- 
mer, of the evil speaker, of the angry and quarrel- 
some % Yes, and does it not prove how exceedingly- 
corrupt man is, that even one who is trying to be a 
good follower of Jesus Christ, does not al ways rule 
his tongue, but at times speaks hastily and unadvi- 
sedly ! Oh how deeply is sin rooted in us : but he 
who is indeed looking to his only Saviour Jesus 
Christ, will endeavor to watch and pray always, 
that the words of his mouth may be only good. — 
With too many, however, the tongue is an unruly 
evil, an evil hard to be governed, and full of deadly 
poison : like a poisonous snake hurting all within 
its reach : by its wicked and foul speaking injuring 
the souls of others, and occasioning their eternal 
ruin. It is a little member, but how much misery it 
will bring about, unless it is bridled by the word and 
spirit of God. Take heed how you give the loose 
rein to your tongue: it would be better to speak 
nothing, rather than by evil speaking injure your 
neighbor's character, and be the occasion of enmi- 
ties and quarrellings. It would be better to speak 
nothing, rather than, by blasphemous and foul 
speaking, ruin your own souls, and endanger the 
souls of others. O take heed how you speak ; and 
give yourselves to prayer, that your words may be 
seasoned with the salt of the gospel of Christ. 

St. James next says, " therewith bless we God, 
even the Father; and therewith curse we men, 
which are made after the similitude of God. Out 
of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. 
My brethren, these things ought not so to be."— 
"What a shame it is that this can be said : with the 



SERMON VI. 



39 



tongue we bless God, and with the tongue we curse 
man. It ought not so to be, but the shameful truth 
stands written against us in the Bible : out of the 
very same mouth, there come at one time prayers 
and praises to God ; at another, cursings, and lying 
and every abominable kind of speech. Can this 
heavy charge be brought against any of you 1 If 
so, repent of this your grievous sin, and learn in 
future to use your tongues to the glory of God, and. 
the good of each other. St. James then asks these 
questions, 46 doth a fountain send forth at the same 
place sweet water and bitter ! Can the fig tree, 
my brethren, bear olive berries ? or a vine figs % so 
can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.' ' — 
And if this is so, what a shocking thing it is, to have 
it said of any of you, that sometimes words of good- 
ness and piety come from your mouths, at other 
times, words of hatred, and bitterness, and filthi- 
ness. And shall we not all have to give account 
for all the words of our lips ] Most assuredly. — 
Our Saviour Jesus Christ, who once came to die 
for cur sins, will come again to judge all mankind: 
and he tells us, " that every idle word that men 
shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the 
day of judgment : for by thy words thou shalt be 
justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemn- 
ed." Think of this, you that love to be evil speak- 
ers; think of the day of judgment, you that love to 
curse and swear, to tell lies, and to use your tongues 
for any thing but good. Remember all of you these 
words of our Saviour, " every idle word that men 
shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the 
day of judgment." And O let the love of God, in 
teaching you the way to heaven through Jesus 
Christ, lead you to repentance, and to the serving 



40 



SERMON VI. 



of him with all your heart. Especially, keep a 
watch upon your tongues. As I have already said, 
pray continually in the name of Jesus : " Set a 
watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and keep the 
door of my lips." Pray always for the gift of the 
Holy Spirit : and if after the example of our Sa- 
viour, you are trying to do the will of God, the 
Holy Spirit will abide in your hearts, teaching you 
how to live in every way, to the glory of him who 
loved you, and gave himself for you. 



SERMON VII. 



Romans vi. 28. — For the wages of sin is death; but the gift 
of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

The apostle St. Paul speaks in this text about 
death, and also about eternal life. He speaks of 
death as the wages of sin : he speaks of eternal life 
as the gift of God. He speaks of death as being 
earned by the sinner ; it is the wages, the pay 
which he receives for living in sin : he speaks of 
eternal life, the gift of God, as being obtained 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. These are indeed 
great matters : we have here life and death ; eternal 
life and eternal death set before us, No subjects 
can be of such importance to us. I pray you to 
give serious attention while I speak to you about 
them. 

The apostle first mentions death as the wages 
of sin. You know that when God created Adam 
and Eve, he made them in his own likeness, after 
his own image : that is, he made them holy and 
happy, in a state in which they might have lived 
happily forever. When he placed them in the 
garden of Eden, he gave them permission to eat of 
the fruit of every tree, except of the tree of the 
knowledge of good and evil. With regard to that, 
he said, " in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou 
shalt surely die." When tempted by the serpent, 
the devil, they did eat of this forbidden fruit, and 
then God said to Adam, " dust thou art, and unto 



42 



SERMON VII. 



dust shalt thou return." This is what he gained 
by his disobedience : death was the sad wages 
which he received for his sin. And must not all 
people die % Do not all, after remaining a little 
time on the earth, return to the dust from whence 
their bodies are taken % Yes, we know that this 
is so : as all are born in sin, and commit much sin 
all their days, they must die, " for the wages of sin 
is death." 

But does death here mean only the leaving this 
world ? Does it mean only the soul leaving the 
body, and the body being committed to the grave % 
No : it means much more than this : the Bible 
speaks of another death : the second death ; which 
is a state of endless punishment : this miserable 
condition is the wages of those who will not serve 
God as the Bible teaches, but who live in sin, and 
die impenitent, unpardoned sinners : these will all 
find that the wages, the pay for which they have 
spent their life, is death, eternal woe in hell. 

You know that on the day of judgment, when 
our Lord Jesus Christ shall come again to judge 
the world, he will separate the righteous from the 
wicked, placing the righteous on his right hand, and 
the wicked on his left. What will he say to those 
wicked on his left hand % He will say to them, — 
" depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, 
prepared for the devil and his angels." The death, 
which is the wages of sin, is this everlasting fire, 
prepared for the devil and his angels. It is a fire 
which shall last forever; and the devil and his 
angels, and all people who will not love and serve 
God, shall there be punished forever. The Bible 
says, " the smoke of their torment ascendeth up 
forever and ever :" the fire is not quenched : it 



SERMON VII. 



43 



never goes out : " their worm dieth not :" their 
punishment is spoken of as a worm, always feeding 
upon them, but never consuming them : it never 
can stop. And this is the wages of sin : this is the 
pay which wilful sinners must receive : this is the 
reward which all must have w T ho will not serve 
God, as the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us. — 
And is it w r orth your while to live for such an end 
as this ? You will all say, it is not. But how are 
you all living 1 Are you indeed serving God ] Are 
you indeed trusting in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of 
sinners 1 Are you indeed his followers, having his 
Spirit abiding in you 1 If any of you are not, what 
can you expect, but to receive, as your wages, this 
second death, the pains of hell, where their worm 
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched 1 Think of 
this, my brethren, I pray you, and while you have 
time, seek the saving of your souls. 

There is a gift of God, a most precious gift, about 
which this text also speaks. " The gift of God is 
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." How 
delightful it is to turn away from the consideration 
of the endless misery of hell, and to speak of the 
eternal happiness of heaven. In the great day of 
judgment, the Lord shall say to those on his right 
hand, " Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of 
the world." These blessed children of God shall 
ascend into heaven with the Lord whom they love : 
they shall be ever with him, in true joy and happi- 
ness ; they shall be forever removed from sorrow, 
pain, trouble, and sin, and shall enjoy the plea- 
sures which are at God's right hand for evermore. 

This blessed state is " the gift of God." Surely 
" God is love ;" he is the " Father of mercies," to 



44 



SERMON VII. 



bestow so great a gift upon such unworthy objects* 
But it comes " through Jesus Christ our Lord." — 
" The gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord." We are unworthy of God's 
favor: we, on account of sin, deserve only punish- 
ment from God ; and we never could have had this 
gift of eternal life offered to us, if Jesus Christ had 
not died for our sins, and reconciled us to God.™ 
As the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, did 
come down from heaven, and take upon him our 
nature ; as he did die for our sins, and rise up again 
from the dead ; as he did ascend into heaven, and 
ever liveth making intercession for us ; therefore 
the kingdom of heaven is open to all who believe in 
him : for his sake, God bestows the gift of eternal 
life upon all who repent of their sins and seek his 
mercy, and favor, and grace through his Son Jesus 
Christ our Lord. 

Do you desire this gift of God, this eternal life, 
my brethren ] Are you seeking this gift] Are you 
living for heaven] If you are, you have indeed 
reason to be called blessed : only go on to the end 
of your life, getting ready for the holiness of heaven 
by faith in Jesus Christ. Go on repenting of your 
sins: go on confessing your sins to God with sor- 
row of heart, and asking forgiveness through Christ : 
go on praying for the Holy Spirit to dwell in your 
hearts, making you altogether children of God. 
But if any of you are not seeking this gift of God, 
eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord, let me 
ask, what are you living for % and what will you 
gain % You are told here, " the wages of sin is 
death." Oh turn, turn from your evil ways, for 
why will you die % The Lord God, against whom 



SERMON VII. 



45 



you have been sinning so long, offers to you eternal 
life through Jesus Christ. Oh let the goodness, 
and forbearance, and long suffering of God, lead 
you to repentance. Jesus is the true living way to 
the Father of mercies : believe in him — look to 
him — obey him — that through him you may have 
life instead of death. 



SERMON VIII. 



Matthew xii. 46 to 50. — While he yet talked to the people, 
behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to 
speak with him. 

Then one said unto him, behold, thy mother and thy brethren 
stand without, desiring to speak with thee. 

But he answered and said unto him that told him, who is my 
mother ? and who are my brethren ? 

And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, 
behold my mother and my brethren ! 

For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, 
the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. 

In tins passage from the Bible, our divine Saviour 
is set before us, acting and speaking in such a man- 
ner, as should make us love him with our whole 
heart, and serve him with all our power. He shews 
us who it is that he loves, with the love that any 
one has for a mother, or sister, or brother. Now, 
if we think for a moment what kind of creatures 
we are, we may well wonder that so great and holy 
a Being as the Lord Jesus Christ should even be 
mindful of us ; but the Bible shews us his wonder- 
ful love to man. We are but dust and ashes ; but he 
is the Lord of glory; who always was, and always 
will be : yet, he pities us, he loves us, and would win 
us to him with love, rather than drive us from him 
in anger. We are most miserable sinners; but he 
is the holy God, who hates sin, and cannot look 
upon iniquity : yet, such is his love, he came and 
died for sinners, his love made him take a man's 
body, and shed his blood that man might be saved. 
Oh who can tell the height, and depth, and length, 



SERMON VIII. 



47 



and breadth of the love of Christ ! it is far greater 
than any of us can tell. But does the view of the 
love of Christ which the Bible gives us, my brethren, 
make you love him and serve him ] When you see 
that love to you made him die for your sins, will 
any of you still hate him, and love your sins? When 
you hear his words of love and kindness calling to 
you to turn from the way that leads to hell, and to 
follow him in the path that leads to heaven, will any 
of you stop your ears, and turn your back upon 
such love and mercy ] Surely, if any here have 
been hating and denying the Lord Jesus, who is so 
full of love to man, he has reason to hang his head 
with shame and confusion of face, and to turn at 
once from his sins to that Saviour who is always 
ready to receive and bless every repenting sinner. 
This portion of the Bible which I have read, shews 
that our Lord Jesus Christ loves those who do the 
will of God, with the love that any one has for a 
mother, or sister, or brother. Let us see what this 
passage of scripture says. "While he yet talked 
to the people, behold, his mother, and his brethren 
stood without, desiring to speak with him." His 
mother, the Virgin Mary, came along with some of 
his relations, and wanted to speak with him ; but 
there was so great a crowd of people round him, 
hearing his word, that they could not get near him. 
Then one of the people in the crowd, who was near 
enough to speak to him, said, behold, " thy mother 
and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak 
with thee." Now, when our Lord was told that 
his mother and his brethren were standing outside 
the crowd of people, and wished to talk with him. 
what did he do] "He answered and said unto 
him that told him ; who is my mother, and who are 



48 



SERMON VIII. 



my brethren ] And he stretched forth his hand 
towards his disciples and said, behold my mother 
and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will 
of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my 
brother, and sister, and mother." In reading in the 
Bible the history of our Lord, while he was living 
upon earth as a man, we see that he always made 
use of whatever happened near him, in order to 
teach the people some doctrine, or to give them 
some good lessons in religion. Here was a good 
opportunity to shew those that were listening to 
him, what kind of people he loved, and what they 
must do, if they would have him feel for them, as 
persons very near and dear to him. His mother 
and his brethren desired to speak to him. He im- 
mediately put the question, who is my mother % 
and who are my brethren ] Who is it, that I, the 
Saviour of the world, can love as my mother and 
my brethren ] What kind of people are they, that 
can have my best regard and my love ] He then 
shewed who were most dear to him, by pointing to 
his disciples, and saying, behold my mother and 
my brethren : these, these my disciples, who believe 
in me, who learn of me, who follow me, who obey 
me, these I regard as very near and dear to me : 
these I love : these I will take care of in this world, 
and they shall in the next world be with me in 
happiness for ever. But our Lord did not mean 
only those few disciples who saw him in the flesh, 
and heard him preach : he meant that all, even to 
the end of the world, who should ever become his 
disciples, and should be obedient to his word, 
should enjoy the very great happiness of being 
loved by him. For he added, " whosoever shall 
do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the 



SERMON VIII. 



49 



same is my brother, and sister, and mother." It 
matters not when the people shall live, or where 
they shall live : it matters not what their occupa- 
tion in the world may be, or what may be their 
condition : it matters not whether they be among 
the high and the rich, or among the low and the 
poor; if they are indeed disciples of Jesus Christ, 
trusting in him who died for the saving of their 
souls, learning of him, seeking grace through him, 
walking steadfastly in the way of God's command- 
ments ; he, who is now sitting on the right hand of 
God, will always love such, will care for them, will 
be with them, will put his Spirit into their hearts, 
and will guide them in the right way ; will comfort 
them here, and receive them into glory hereafter. 

Can there be any blessedness equal to this ! to 
have our Saviour, who came from heaven to die 
for us, to love us ] to have the Lord of glory to be 
our dearest friend ] a friend who has power to help 
us always 1 a friend who will never forsake those 
who trust in him ? Can any blessedness equal this, 
to have him for our best friend, who will come at 
the last day to judge the world; who will punish 
them that hate him with never ending punishment, 
but will bless them that love him in his own bright 
presence for ever ] No : blessed Jesus, nothing 
can equal the happiness of being thine. 

And, my brethren, may this chief happiness be 
yours 1 Is it possible that the Lord Jesus Christ 
may say of all here present, behold my mother, and 
my brethren ] He, in the greatness of his mercy, 
has placed this blessing within the reach of every 
one. And are there any here, so deep in sin, that 
they do not desire the love of our Saviour ] 



50 



SERMON VIII. 



If you would indeed enjoy this blessing, you see 
that you must be actively engaged in doing the 
will of God. " Whosoever shall do the will of my 
Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, 
and sister, and mother." 

It is the will of God that you should be depend- 
ing upon the meritorious death and passion of Jesus 
Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and the 
saving of your souls. Are you doing the will of 
God in this 1 regarding yourselves as nothing, as 
miserably lost sinners, and looking only to Jesus, 
believing that he died upon the cross to save you 
and all mankind ? It is the will of God that you 
should be repenting of your sins, and forsaking 
them. Are you doing the will of God in this % Do 
you try and think of your many sins every day ? 
Do you confess them to God with sorrow of heart, 
and cry to him for mercy in the name of Jesus ] It 
is the will of God that you should be getting rid of 
the bad desires of your hearts, and be coming to 
him daily for new and clean hearts ? Are you doing 
the will of God in this 1 Do you watch against the 
sins which do so easily beset you, and pray to God 
in the name of Jesus, " make me a clean heart, O 
God, and renew a right spirit within me V' It is 
the will of God that you should be continually 
praying to him, in the name of Christ, for the Holy 
Spirit to sanctify you, to comfort you, to enlighten 
your minds, to help you against the temptations of 
the world, the flesh and the devil. Are you doing 
the will of God in this % Is it your chief desire that 
the Holy Spirit may abide in your hearts, making 
you temples of the living God ] And do you pray 
every day for this precious gift % It is the will of 
God that you make his commandments the rule 



SERMON Vllt. 



Si 



tbat you live by every day. Are you doing the 
will of God in this ? Oh learn, my brethren, to 
live according to God's holy will and command- 
ments : pray from your hearts, " thy will be done," 
not mine, but thine, thy holy will, O God. 

Follow Jesus in doing the will of God as he did, 
and you will then know how to gain much comfort 
from this text, " Whosoever shall do the will of 
my Father which is in heaven, the same is my 
brother, and sister, and mother/' 



SERMON IX. 



Matthew xiii. 3. — And he spake many things unto them in 
parables, saying, behold, a sower went forth to sow. 

In the parable of the sower, our Saviour Jesus 
Christ teaches us, in a simple manner, that his word 
does not always do those good who hear it. He 
shews us, that some persons hear his word, but 
care nothing at all about it : that others hear it, and 
pay some attention to it for a little time, and then 
fall away : while others again, who hear his word, 
and receive it, do not yield the good fruit of a good 
life, because they love this world too much. He 
tells us also, that although the good seed of his word 
does fall upon many hard and barren hearts, yet 
that there are some with honest and good hearts, 
who, when they hear the word of God, keep it, and 
do it; shewing by their godly lives, that the love 
of God is shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy 
Ghost given unto them. 

I will read to you what our Lord says in this pa- 
rable. " Behold, a sower went forth to sow : and 
when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way-side, 
and the fowls came and devoured them up : some 
fell upon stony places, where they had not much 
earth ; and forthwith they sprung up, because they 
had no deepness of earth : and when the sun was 
up, they were scorched ; and because they had no 
root, they withered away : and some fell among 
thorns ; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 
but other fell into good ground, and brought forth 



SERMON IX. 



53 



fruit, some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some 
thirty fold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." 

Our Saviour, himself, explained what he meant 
by this parable. He said, " the seed is the word 
of God." This precious seed, the word of God, 
our Saviour sowed when he was in the world. — 
Wherever he went he preached his gospel. This 
good seed has now for a long time been sown 
amongst you. You have heard a great deal of the 
Bible read and explained to you. You know from 
that holy book, how Adam disobeyed God, and 
brought sin and death into the world. You have 
been taught much about the love of God in sending 
his son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. You have 
been told all our Saviour said, and did, and suffer- 
ed, when he was in the flesh. But how have you 
heard, and obeyed this holy word of God % If you 
have received the word gladly, and have been pray- 
ing as it teaches you, have been doing what it com- 
mands, have been believing its life-giving doctrines, 
you may hope to enjoy its great and precious pro- 
mises. But if the word read to you, and preached 
to you, is neglected by you, surely this same word 
shall rise up against you in the day of judgment 
and condemn you. Take heed then how you hear : 
and pray to God for his grace, that your ears may 
be opened to hear his word, and your hearts be 
prepared to keep it. 

Our Saviour said in this parable, c< when he sowed 
some seeds fell by the way-side, and the fowls of 
the air came and devoured them up." This you 
easily understand. If any seed, which you are go- 
ing to sow, falls in the path, or by the road-side, 
the birds and fowls will soon eat it up, and you 
need not look for any thing to grow from it. How 



54 



SERMON IX. 



did our Saviour explain this? He said, " when any 
one heareth the word of the kingdom, and under- 
standeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and 
catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. — 
This is he which received seed by the way-side." 
Now I am afraid, that there are many hearers of 
this kind: they come to church and hear the word 
of God ; but, they do not understand it ; they do 
not come with a desire to understand it ; they do 
not pray to God for his Holy Spirit to enlighten 
their minds, so that they may understand it. And 
why are so many unwilling to understand the word 
of God 1 The reason is, they do not hunger and 
thirst after righteousness : they love their sins too 
well, and do not care about learning what they 
must do and believe that their souls may be saved. 
Therefore, when they go away from the Church, 
the devil takes away from them all that they have 
heard ; they think of it no more, and from them 
nothing good can come. 

How is it with you, my brethren ? Are any of 
you like these foolish and careless hearers] Oh 
take heed how you hear : and whenever you come 
together to worship God, and to hear his word read 
to you, pray to him to give you understanding 
hearts, and to make you love his word and keep it i 
so that instead of the devil catching away from you 
what you hear, the word of the gospel may take 
root in your hearts, making you look always to Je- 
sus, through whom alone you can be saved. 

Oar Saviour, in the parable, says, " and some 
fell upon stony places, where they had not much 
earth ; and forthwith they sprung up, because they 
had no deepness of earth ; and when the sun was 
up, they were scorched; and because they had no 



SERMON IX. 



55 



root they withered away." This again you can 
understand perfectly well. If you sow seed upon 
stony ground, where the plant cannot strike its root 
deep into the earth, it must be dried up in the 
scorching heat of summer. How did our Lord 
explain this ? He said, " he that received the seed 
into stony places, the same is he that heareth the 
word, and anon with joy receiveth it : yet hath he 
not root in himself, but dureth for a while : for, 
when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of 
the word, by and by he is offended." I am afraid 
that there are many of these stony hearted hearers. 
They may for a little time hear the word of God 
with some attention, and seem to love it : they may 
for a little time, think it good to be called God's 
children, and to be hearers of the word along with 
them : but they have no root in themselves, they 
have no real sorrow for sin, no desire to become 
pure and holy ; no real love to God, or to his Son 
Jesus Christ, who came and died for our sins : they 
do not cry to God for mercy from a broken and 
contrite heart ; they do not really pray that their 
sins may be washed away in the blood of Jesus, 
and that the Holy Spirit may sanctify them, and 
guide them into all truth ; and therefore their atten- 
tion to religion lasts only for a little time ; at the 
first appearance of trials and difficulties in serving 
God, they fall away, they get tired, and turn back 
to serve the world and the devil, and nothing good 
can come from them. 

How is it with you, my brethren 1 Are there any 
of these stony hearted hearers here ? Oh pray 
earnestly to God, and ask him again and again to 
take out of you the heart of stone, and to give you 
p 



56 



SERMON IX. 



a heart of flesh : a heart prepared by his Spirit to 
receive the good seed of his word ; a heart in which 
this good seed may take deep root, bringing forth 
in you the good fruit of " repentance toward God, 
and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." 

Our Saviour said again in the parable, " and 
some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up, 
and choaked them." You know full well that if 
the ground is not well cleared, and kept free from 
weeds and thorns, you can reap nothing from the 
seed which you sow. How does our Lord explain 
this 1 He says, " he also that received seed among 
thorns, is he that heareth the word, and the care of 
this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke 
the word, and he becometh unfruitful." There are, 
1 am afraid, a great many hearers of this kind. — 
They try to love heaven and this world too, and this 
is impossible. They try to serve God, and to follow 
their own ways too ; and this cannot be done. 
They call themselves followers of Jesus ; but they 
love this world which hated him, and they desire 
the things of this world more than the riches of 
Christ. This love of the world, and care about 
worldly things, are like weeds and thorns in the 
heart ; and if allowed to grow there, will choke and 
destroy the good seed of the word of God. 

How is it with you, my brethren 1 Where are 
you laying up your treasure ? On what are your 
affections placed ] Has the love of this present 
evil world so taken possession of any of your hearts 
that it is choking your love to God ? Oh take heed 
how you hear his word : watch over the desires of 
your hearts, lest the love of earthly things draw 
them away from God : pray for grace, pray for 
strength, pray for a heavenly mind, that your hearts 



SERMON IX. 



57 



may be weaned from all covetous desires of the 
world, and may be set on things above, where 
Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 

Our Saviour having shewn that the good seed of 
the word of God is lost upon three bad kind of 
hearers, said, " but other fell into good ground, 
and brought forth fruit, some an hundred fold, 
some sixty fold, some thirty fold :" which is easily 
understood as he explained it; " he that received 
seed into the good ground, is he that heareth the 
word, and understandeth it ; which also beareth 
fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundred fold, 
some sixty fold, some thirty fold." Although the 
word of God is lost upon some, it is delightful to 
think that it is not lost upon all. Some hear the 
word and do it. They understand it; they pray 
that they may understand it, and God opens their 
hearts, so that they receive it gladly and keep it. 
They also bear fruit : they repent of their sins, and 
forsake them : they look to Jesus, crucified for the 
sin of the world, believing, that for his sake, their 
sins shall be forgiven them : they pray much ; they 
love to wait upon God in prayer, seeking his mercy, 
his love, his grace, through the one Mediator Jesus 
Christ: and through the grace given to them, they 
become obedient children, walking in the way of 
God's commandments. This good fruit which they 
bear shews that the word of God has indeed taken 
root in their hearts. 

How is it with you, my brethren ] Can it be said 
of all of you that you receive the word of God into 
an honest and good heart ? And are you also bring- 
ing forth the fruit of a good life ? Oh attend to 
this : take heed how you hear, and think often of 
what our Saviour says in this parable of the sower. 



58 



SERMON IX. 



You see, that hearing the word of God, is not 
enough. You must do according to what you 
hear ; you must live as the Bible teaches you, or 
you will have heard to no good purpose. Your 
advantages are indeed great ; and as you are shewn 
the love of God in sending his Son to die for you : 
as you are taught all that Jesus said, and did, and 
suffered when he was made flesh, and dwelt among 
us ; as you know that the Holy Spirit sanctifies the 
heart ; oh make full use of your privileges, and 
shew that you thank God by serving him : shew 
that you love your Saviour by following him ; shew 
that you have the Holy Spirit in your hearts, by 
hating sin, and by your hungering and thirsting 
after righteousness. Our Saviour says, " blessed 
are they that hear the word of God, and do it." 



SERMON X. 



Matthew xiii. 36. — His disciples came unto him, saying, de- 
clare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 

In the parable of the tares of the field, our Lord 
Jesus Christ speaks of both good and bad people 
being members of his visible Church upon earth. 
That this is so is a very sad thing : and the good 
followers of Jesus Christ are often very much 
grieved, when they see some professing to know 
him, but in works denying him. Such false Chris- 
tians bring reproach upon our Saviour, and make his 
religion to be evil spoken of. But in this same para- 
ble our Lord shews to us the end of all things: the 
great day of judgment ; when his true servants shall 
be separated from those that are Christians only in 
name, and from all the workers of iniquity ; he tells 
us that these last shall be burnt with fire that never 
shall be quenched, but that his true disciples shall 
be blessed forever. 

Our Lord said, " the kingdom of heaven is liken- 
ed unto a man which sowed good seed in his field : 
but while men slept, his enemy came, and sowed 
tares among the wheat, and went his way. But 
when the blade was sprung up and brought forth 
fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants 
of the householder came and said unto him, sir, didst 
not thou sow good seed in thy field 1 from whence 
the n hath it tares 1 He said unto them, an enemy 
hat! i done this. The servants said unto him, wilt 
tho- a then that we go and gather them up ? But he 



60 



SERMON X. 



said, nay ; lest, while ye gather up the tares, ye 
root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow 
together until the harvest; and in the time of har- 
vest I will say to the reapers, gather ye together 
first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn 
them; but gather the wheat into my barn." The 
disciples of our Lord asked him to explain to them 
what he meant by this parable : let us now attend 
to what he said, and may God give us grace to im- 
prove by it. 

The kingdom of heaven, that is, the Church of 
Christ in this world, is likened unto a man which 
sowed good seed in his field. He that sowed the 
good seed is the Son of Man — our Lord Jesus 
Christ; who to save us came down from heaven, 
and was made man : therefore, he is called the Son 
of Man, as well as the Son of God. The field in 
which he sowed the good seed is the world. Yes, 
our Lord came to save the whole world : he died 
for the sins of the whole world : he, himself, began 
to preach his gospel, and to call upon men to repent 
and come to him, that they might be saved ; and 
ever since his gospel has been preached in the 
world. And has not this gospel of Jesus Christ 
come to you ] Have you not by baptism been 
made members of his Church upon earth ? Are 
not you taught to be repenting always of your sins, 
to be believing always in Jesus Christ, to be pray- 
ing always for the Holy Spirit, that you may live n 
obedient children of God % But how do you 1 
the word of Jesus Christ ] Pray to him to 
your ears, and to give you believing and obi 
hearts. 

The good seed are the children of the king 
those pious Christians, who are indeed me ml 



SERMON X. 



61 



Christ, and children of God. These are plants of 
our Saviour's planting : they have his spirit in their 
hearts ; they watch themselves, that they fall not 
into sin : they pray diligently that, that good spirit 
may not be taken from them : they shew that they 
put their trust in Jesus, who died for them, by 
obeying him ; and if they continue his true servants 
till they die, they shall be with him forever in his 
kingdom of glory. Are you, my brethren, shewing 
that you really belong to him, by your humble and 
penitent, and obedient lives'? The Bible tells us, 
"hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep 
his commandments. He that saith, I know him, 
and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and 
the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his 
word, in him verily is the love of God perfected : 
hereby know we that we are in 1™!.'' While then 
you are looking only to the blood of Jesus, for the 
forgiveness of your sins, be very much in prayer 
for the Holy Spirit to abide in your hearts, making 
you " followers of God, as dear children." 

In the parable, we read of tares growing up 
among the wheat; and also when the servants went 
to their master, saying, " didst not thou sow good 
seed in thy field ] whence then hath it tares V 9 he 
said, " an enemy hath done this !" And our Lord 
explained this, by saying, " the tares are the chil- 
dren of the wicked one : the enemy that sowed them 

the devil. ,, Yes, this is a sad truth : there are 
among the wheat : deceitful and wicked peo- 
o mongst the followers of Jesus. The enemy 
not owed them is the devil : he, the Bible tells us, 
the 3 a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom 
hat! iy devour. And what numbers has he de- 
thm I and kept in the ways of sin : yes, and some 



62 



SERMON X. 



of his children creep into the Church and wear 
religion like a cloak, seeming and pretending to be 
good, but having hearts full of hypocrisy and wick- 
edness. Or, he deceives some that are in the 
Church ; leads them to grow careless and cold in 
religion, and to attend only to the outward worship 
of God, while they neglect the religion of the heart. 
How is it with all of you that are here ? Can it be 
said of all of you, that you are anxious to be the 
children of the kingdom 'I or are there some here, 
who are the children of the wicked one % I cannot 
tell ; for man can look only at the outward appear- 
ance. But there is one that can tell; yes, God looks 
at the heart. Remember that : try and examine 
yourselves, and turn to him with all your heart. — 
The gospel shews him to you as a God of love: 
seek him by repentance and faith in Jesus : pray 
always for grace to serve him, and he will turn you 
from darkness to light, from the power of Satan 
unto God. 

When the servants in the parable asked their 
master, if they should root up the tares, he said, 
" nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up 
with them the wheat also. Let both grow together 
until the harvest." " The harvest is the end of the 
world :" there will remain until then, both good anc 
bad in the Church of Christ. But then a separation 
shall be made. Jesus Christ, whose word is no 
read to you, whose gospel is now preached to yo 
shall come again in great glory, at the end of ; 
world. He shall then say to the angels, the reapf 
who shall reap his great harvest of human 
" gather ye together first the tares, and binu 
in bundles to burn them." " Gather out of my 
dom, out of my Church, all that offend and *h 



SERMON X. 



63 



which do iniquity : separate the wicked from among 
the righteous : and what do with them % cast them 
into a furnace of fire : there shall be wailing and 
gnashing of teeth.'' Are there any here, who are like 
tares among the wheat ? who pretend only to follow 
Jesus ] You see what will be the sad end of such, 
" Cast them into a furnace of fire :" the fire of hell. 
Are there any here, who love the ways of sin; 
who will not come to Jesus, that their sins may be 
forgiven, and that they may have grace to lead a 
new life ] You see here what will be the end of 
all such. " Cast them into a furnace of fire." Oh 
think of the dreadful end of the wicked. Think of 
the great value of your souls. Let not the mercy 
of God, and the love of God, be thrown away upon 
you. He calls to you; "turn ye, turn ye, from 
your evil ways ; for why will ye die V 9 He gave 
-his own Son to die for you. Repent therefore, seek 
his mercy and grace, that you may meet him with 
joy in the day of judgment. 

But what shall our Lord do with the wheat in 
that day 1 " Gather the wheat into my barn." — 
" Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in 
the kingdom of their Father." The Lord shall say 
o them, " come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
he kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
f the world." And they shall be forever with the 
ord whom they love. Now may this happiness 
yours ? It may, if you will take Jesus for your 
iour, and be entirely obedient to him. I hope 
e are some here, who do repent of their sins 
ho do determine to lead a new life, who do 
<< without ceasing, that they may, through the 
Spirit, lead this new life of obedience. I 
)e i that there are some here, who do have a live- 



64 



SERMON- X. 



ly faith in God's mercy through Christ, that preci- 
ous Saviour who shed his blood lor us. Go on, my 
brethren, steadfast in the faith and obedience of 
the gospel ; watch and pray always, lest ye fall into 
temptation : give yourselves unto prayer, that the 
Holy Spirit may guide you into all truth, and may 
keep you in the same all the days of your life. Our 
Saviour says, " be thou faithful unto death, and I 
will give thee a crown of life. " May he mercifully 
give us all grace to be thus faithful. 



SERMON 



XL 



Matthew xv. 23 — Then Jesus answered and said unto her, 
O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. 
And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. 

In this part of the Bible, we have the very inter- 
esting account of a woman coming to Jesus, and 
asking him to heal her daughter, who was in a very 
wretched state : and from it we learn the impor- 
tance of persevering prayer, and the necessity of 
having a steadfast faith in the love and power of 
our Saviour. I pray you to give close attention to 
what I say, and may the Spirit of God so bless us, 
that we may cry continually for help to Jesus, who 
alone is " the way, and the truth, and the life." 

As our Saviour was going along with his disci- 
ples, a woman, who did not belong to God's chosen 
people of Israel, " cried unto him, saying, have 
mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David ! my 
daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." Her 
daughter was, indeed, in a very sad state ; and it 
may be that our great enemy, the devil, had greater 
liberty at that time, that the power of Jesus over 
him might be better seen ; for as the Bible says, 
" for this purpose was the Son of God manifested, 
that he might destroy the works of the devil." 

This woman, seeing her daughter in so grievous 
a state, was in great distress ; but she did what 
every child of God ought to do ; she came to Jesus 
"and cried unto him, saying, have mercy on me, 



66 



SERMON XI. 



O Lord, thou son of David, my daughter is griev- 
ously vexed with a devil." 

This, my brethren, is an example which you, as 
Christians, ought to follow. If you, or your fami- 
lies, or friends are in any kind of trouble or afflic- 
tion, you should, with the confidence of little 
children, seek your heavenly Father, lay open all 
your heart to him, and cry, have mercy on me, O 
Lord. We are taught in the Bible " to cast all our 
care upon him, because he careth for us." And 
where this is done with " a lively faith in God's 
mercy through Christ," there such a blessing will 
follow as God sees to be best for us. He will either 
remove the trial, or will, in answer to prayer, give 
grace to bear it patiently, and to improve under it. 
But ought you not every day to cry to the Lord for 
mercy ? Yes, surely you ought, for there is not 
one of you who does not offend God continually by 
his sins ; and if you feel that the sinfulness of your 
nature is a grief and burden to you; if you feel sad 
at the remembrance of your daily transgressions, 
you will every day make a full confession of your 
sins to God, and will cry to him in the name of 
Jesus for mercy, and for grace to lead a new life ; 
being very thankful to God that he " so loved the 
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but 
have everlasting life." 

When this woman had thus cried to Jesus, — 
" Lord have mercy on me," we are told that he 
answered her not a word. His conduct here was 
very different from what it usually was: but we 
may suppose, that as he knows the heart, he saw 
the strength of her faith, and therefore tried her, as 
Abraham was formerly tried, that ;< the trial of her 



SERMON XI. 



67 



faith might be found unto praise, and honor, and 
glory." And if any of you, when in distress of any 
kind, cry unto the Lord for help, if you do not at 
once obtain relief, be not discouraged ; do as this 
woman did, and continue waiting upon your God 
in prayer. He knows what is best for us, and which 
is the best time to send relief. Our duty is to wait 
upon Him in constant prayer. 

This woman was too full of sorrow on account 
of her daughter, and was too well convinced of the 
love and power of Jesus, to give up asking. " She 
cried after him :" she wanted help, and cried more 
and more for mercy. And are not you and all men, 
as sinners, in a miserable condition 1 And is there 
not forgiveness in Jesus, through his blood ? Never 
cease then crying to him for mercy. Happy, in- 
deed, will you be if you feel distressed on account 
of your sins, and desire more than any thing to have 
a clean heart, and to do the will of God: for you will 
then seek and find your Saviour, who loved you 
and gave himself for you. 

We are next told that " his disciples came and 
besought him, saying, send her away ;" send her 
away by healing her daughter, " for she crieth after 
us. But he answered and said, I am not sent, but 
unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Jesus 
came into the world to die for the sins of all men ; 
he is "the Lamb of God which taketh away the 
sin of the world." But while he was upon earth, 
it pleased him to do his mighty works only amongst 
the Jews, and to confine his teaching to them ; and 
therefore, when his disciples asked him to help this 
Gentile woman, he said, " I am not sent, but unto 
the lost sheep of the house of Israel." This answer 
would have been enough to have caused one of 



68 



SERMON XI. 



little faith to have turned away in despair. But as 
the distress of this woman was great, so was her 
faith great : " She came and worshipped him, say- 
ing, Lord help me." She would not doubt the good 
will of our Saviour towards her; but as if thinking 
that she was herself in fault, she became more 
humble and more in earnest : " she came and wor- 
shipped him, saying, Lord help rae." Her manner 
and her prayer shewed the distress of her mind, 
and her unshaken confidence in the Lord. 

You are taught by this to continue instant in 
prayer ; to pray always, and not to faint. If, whilst 
in the path of duty, difficulties increase around you, 
do not cease praying for patience and guidance. If 
the knowledge of your weakness and your many 
sins is a burden upon your souls ; if you continue 
thus sad, even while you seek God daily in his ap- 
pointed way, still do not faint ; do not think of 
giving up and saying, there is no mercy for me : this 
would show you to be of little faith ; this would 
make you guilty of the sin of doubting the word of 
God, who declares that he is unwilling that any 
should perish, but that all should come to repent- 
ance," that all should believe in Jesus, and follow 
him, and so be saved. Instead of doubting the 
good will of your God and Saviour, look into your- 
selves : see whether you are humble and truly 
sorry for all your sins past; see whether you are 
trying to do, in every thing, the will of God ; whe- 
ther you really desire to be released from sin, and 
to become holy like God ; whether you are trust- 
ing altogether in the merits and intercession of 
Jesus, your Saviour. Examine yourselves upon 
these, and in humble faith, from the depths of a 
broken and a contrite heart, throw yourselves upon 



SERMON XI. 



69 



the mercy of God, and cry, "Lord help rile." And 
as we read in the Bible, " the Holy Spirit helpeth 
our infirmities, for we know not what to pray for 
as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh interces- 
sion for us, with groanings which cannot be ut- 
tered." 

As this woman continued asking our Saviour to 
help her, he spoke as if it would not be fit and pro- 
per for him to do so, because she was not of the 
nation of the Jews: he said, "it is not meet to 
take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs :" 
that is, it is not fit that the Gentiles, who are not 
God's people, should be benefited by that word, 
and by those miracles, which, for the present, are 
intended only for the Jews. Now did this saying 
of Jesus drive the woman away from him ? No, 
she would let nothing turn her away from him who 
alone could help her. And we see how very hum- 
ble she was, and how much she felt her unworthi- 
cess. She answered " truth Lord." As much as 
to say, I cannot deny it, I am even as a dog, and 
have no right to the children's bread. Now do 
you feel thus humble : do you feel your unworthi- 
ness as she did] You must feel in this manner 
before you can value your Saviour and his grace 
as you ought to do, and you will then be able hear- 
tily to join in the prayer in our communion service. 
" We do not presume to come to this thy table, O 
merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, 
but in thy manifold and great mercies: we are not 
worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under 
thy table." 

" Truth Lord," said this woman ; " I am even 
as a dog, altogether unworthy of thy favour but 
she added, " yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which 



SERMON Xt. 



fall from their master's table ;" by which she meant 
that the little favour which she asked, was but as 
a crumb compared with the great blessings bes- 
towed upon the Jews, and might therefore be 
granted. You see how very anxious she was to 
obtain the smallest favor from the Lord ; you ob- 
serve how earnest and how persevering she was in 
asking for the blessing which she wanted. The 
same anxiety, the same earnestness and perseve- 
rance in prayer you ought to shew. And what 
will prevent your doing as this woman did ] An 
indifference about your souls will prevent you, or 
a love for this present evil world, or an unwilling- 
ness to give up some sin which you love ; these will 
prevent your seeking pardon and grace through 
Jesus, and will keep you in bondage to the devil. 
But if you feel what unworthy creatures you natu- 
rally are, if you are anxious to be saved from the 
eternal pains of hell, if you wish to be prepared 
for the perfect holiness of heaven, you will imitate 
this woman, and will every day come boldly in the 
name of Jesus " to the throne of grace, that you 
may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the 
time of need." If you feel that your necessities 
are great, you will be thankful for the least of 
God's mercies, and this humble disposition will 
prepare you for receiving and enjoying the fulness 
of the blessings which are promised in scripture 
to the believer in Jesus Christ. 

This woman having shewn how much she be- 
lieved in the goodness and power of our Saviour, 
" he answered and said unto her, O woman, great 
is thy faith ; be it unto thee even as thou wilt. 
And her daughter was made whole from that very 
hour." Our Saviour, you see, spoke of her faith 



SERMON V a 



71 



as being great: it was her faith which made her so 
humble, so meek, so patient, so persevering. Her 
firm belief, that Jesus was able and willing to help 
her, supported her through all her trial, and the 
Lord blessed her. 

Have you such a faith as this 1 It is very im- 
portant that you should "examine yourselves, whe- 
ther you have a lively faith in God's mercy through 
Christ, " for if you go wrong in this, you may lose 
your souls : for the Bible says, " without faith it is 
impossihle to please God it says again, "believe 
in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved*" 
A firm belief that through Jesus Christ alone, who 
died for the sins of the world, forgiveness will be 
granted to the truly penitent, is the ground-work 
on which you must build your hope of heaven. — 
And if this faith is alive in you, you will feel what 
sinners you naturally are, and how much you need 
pardon and grace : you will pray very diligently 
for the Spirit of God to guide you, and to make 
you better and better ; you will try and be content- 
ed in your station, doing your duty quietly, desir- 
ing in all things to be obedient to the will of God : 
you will endeavour to be conformed to the image 
of Christ our Saviour, becoming mild, and meek, 
and patient and forgiving like him, loving your 
neighbors as you love yourselves. Watch, and 
pray, my brethren, that these fruits of a living faith 
may grow and increase in you, and you may trust 
that Jesus, who loved you and gave himself for 
you, will bless you now and through eternity. 



SERMON XII. 



Matthew xviii. 1.— At the same time came the disciples unto 
Jesus, saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ? 

Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ? 
This very much concerns us, for we belong to this 
kingdom. We, at our baptism, were made "mem- 
bers of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of 
the kingdom of heaven." We, therefore, ought to 
know what kind of persons our Lord will account 
great in his kingdom, that is, in his Church, lest, 
from our inattention to this, he say to us in the day 
of judgment, "I never knew you," For he de- 
clares that he will say so to some that professed to 
belong to him, and that some of the children of the 
kingdom shall be cast into outer darkness. 

They were the twelve disciples who asked our 
Lord this question. They had now been a long 
time with our Saviour; they had seen the many 
mighty works which he was always doing; they 
had heard the gracious words which day after day 
proceeded out of his mouth ; but yet they did not 
understand until after his death and resurrection, 
what the real nature of his religion was. They 
heard him speaking about his kingdom, and they 
did not think at first that this kingdom was spiritual 
in its nature, and that Jesus would reign in the 
hearts of his followers, and make them ready and 
fit for heaven. Instead of seeing this, they were 
thinking only of this w 7 orld, expecting to have a 
great deal of the riches, and honor, and power of 



SERMON XII. 



73 



this world. And we cannot wonder that they felt 
and thought thus, for we find that we are all too 
much given to the love of this present world : it is 
one grievous fault of our fallen nature. We know 
that we ought to wean our hearts from the love of 
earthly things, and through Jesus seek for the hap- 
piness of heaven ; but yet so foolish and corrupt 
are we, we are continually setting our hearts upon 
things here below. Let the knowledge of this 
make you more humble and penitent, more watch- 
ful over yourselves, more frequent and earnest in 
prayer to God for his mercy and grace. 

The disciples, full of the thought of being great 
in this world, came to Jesus, saying, " who is the 
greatest in the kingdom of heaven V 9 Which of us 
is to be the greatest man in this kingdom, about 
which you so often speak ] Now, how did our 
Saviour correct this great mistake which they had 
made] He reproved them in a very simple way; 
in a way from which we may gain much useful in- 
struction. He ''called a little child unto him, and 
set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I 
say unto you, except ye be converted, and become 
as a little child, ye shall not enter into the kingdom 
of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble 
himself as this little child, the same is greatest in 
the kingdom of heaven." In this very plain but 
forcible way, did our Lord rebuke them, and shew 
to them the only way in which they could become 
truly great in his kingdom; which is, by humility, 
by meekness, by lowliness of mind, by being like 
a little child, willing to be taught, having no high 
notions about himself, and being indifferent to the 
things of the world. 

G 



74 



SE&MQN XII. 



All men are apt to fall into the sin of thinking too 
much of themselves, and I dare say that you all 
have often run into this common error. Your heads 
have sometimes been filled with high and proud 
notions. You have looked upon yourselves as bet- 
ter than other people, and have despised them : you 
have been anxious to keep others down, and exalt 
yourselves above them ; when others have been 
praised and rewarded, you have been filled with a 
spirit of envy and jealousy ; you have not been con- 
tented with such a portion, as the Lord in his pro- 
vidence has given to you; nor has it been your 
chief care to do, every day, his will. I dare >ay 
that you have all, sometimes, felt and done in this 
way. But you see how contrary such a state of the 
heart is to what you learn in the gospel of Jesus 
Christ. And if any of you like to indulge in these 
high and proud notions, if you wish to hold your 
own heads high, and to keep others down ; if you 
want to be esteemed great in this world ; if you are 
in love with the things of the world, you are in a 
very wretched state : for our Saviour says, except 
ye be converted, unless you be changed, and give 
up those foolish thoughts and wicked desires, and 
become as little children, thinking nothing of your- 
selves, and willing to be taught by the word of God, 
you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven — 
into the eternal mansions of peace. If you wish 
only to exalt yourselves, you cannot be followers of 
Jesus Christ now, nor have any good hope that he 
w r ill bless you hereafter. For the first step which 
you and every one must take in becoming a Chris- 
tian, is to humble yourselves, and receive the truth 
as it is in J esus, with the simplicity and willingness 
of a little child. 



SERMON XII. 



75 



This is so important a matter, that I will continue 
to speak about it. Only think, for a little, of what 
you are. When born, you are a helpless little 
child ; as long as you live, you are liable to sick- 
ness and disease of every kind ; you cannot live one 
moment without the care of God, and after a few 
years you must die, and turn again to dust. What 
then have any of you to be proud of? Surely you 
ought to humble yourselves very much before the 
eternal God, and confessing that you are but dust 
and ashes, cry to him continually to have mercy 
upon you. 

Think again of your souls ; you were all born in 
sin, and are by nature children that God is angry 
with ; as long as you live you are inclined to go 
wrong ; if left to yourselves, you would follow your 
own perverse wills, rather than the will of God ; 
you would do the works of the devil rather than 
walk in the way of God's commandments ; pre- 
paring for the everlasting punishment of hell, rather 
than the pure joys of heaven. How greatly then 
should you humble yourselves under a sense of 
your unworthiness and sinfulness, crying out as we 
read in the Bible, some good servants of God did, 
4i I am unclean, I am unclean ;" " I abhor myself, 
and repent in dust and ashes." Abase yourselves 
in this manner before the holy God, praying that 
your sins may be blotted out through Jesus, who 
died to save you, and that your hearts may be 
made new and clean by the Holy Spirit abiding in 
you. ^ 

Think again how much Jesus Christ our Saviour 
humbled himself when he came into the world to 
save sinners. He was in the beginning with God, 
and was God ; but for our sakes, and for our salva- 



76 



SERMON XII. 



tion, he came down from heaven and took upon 
him the body of a man ; he knew no sin, but he 
knew the sorrows, and pains, and temptations of 
human nature ; and after enduring these, he per- 
mitted wicked men to take him most shamefully, 
and to nail him to the cross. And all this was to 
save us miserable sinners. And along with love, 
here is a wonderful example of patience, of meek- 
ness, of lowliness, of humility. You call yourselves 
followers of Jesus : Oh learn to follow him in his 
humility. He, the Lord from heaven, thus hum- 
bled himself to save yon; while you try to follow 
his perfect example, remember your sinful condi- 
tion, and regard yourselves 'as nothing in the sight 
of God. You say that you believe that the blood 
of Jesus cleanseth from all sin. If you or any peo- 
ple are saved, it will be only through faith in that 
atoning blood. Remember that that blood was 
shed for others, as well as for you, and do not 
despise a brother or a sister for whom Christ 
died : do not lift up yourselves above others, since 
you are sinners equally with them, and require par- 
don and grace as much as they do. Come then 
willingly and thankfully to Jesus Christ, the Saviour 
of sinners. Come heavy laden with the burden of 
your sins, and he promises to give you rest. Learn 
humility of him, and you may comfort your hearts 
with this word of God : " Thus saith the high and 
lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is 
holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him 
also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive 
the spirit of the humble, and to revive the hearts of 
the contrite ones.' , 



SERMON XHL 



Matthew xviii. 21, 22. — Then came Peter to him, and said, 
Lord, how oft shall ray brother sin against me, and I forgive him? 
till seven times l Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until 
seven times ; but, until seventy times seven. 

I have often told you, my brethren, that the dis- 
ciples of Jesus Christ are known by the love that 
they have one to another ; and that they will always 
be ready freely to forgive any one w r ho does them 
any harm. The duty of having a forgiving temper 
is so great, that our Lord has taught us to pray to 
God to forgive us, " as we forgive those who tres- 
pass against us." This great Christian virtue is set 
before us in a plain and affecting manner in the 
eighteenth chapter of St. Matthew: we read, "then 
came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall 
ray brother sin against me, and I forgive him % till 
seven times V 9 By this question, Peter evidently 
thought, that it was our duty to forgive an offending 
brother only a few times, and that if he continued 
to sin against us, we were not bound to forgive him. 
" Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until 
seven times, but until seventy times seven." By 
which we learn, that this duty of forgiving our bro- 
ther can never be set aside : it matters not how 
often he may offend, we are never to grow weary 
of forgiving him. Our Saviour in another place 
teaches us the same duty : he says, "if thy brother 
trespass against thee seven times in a day, and 



78 



SERMON XIII. 



seven times in a day turn again to thee, and say I 
repent; thou shalt forgive him." 

Does this seem to any of you to be a hard say- 
ing % do any of you like to keep in your hearts re- 
vengeful feelings] When any one injures you, do 
you determine to seize the first opportunity of 
hurting him ? of returning evil for evil ] If so, 
your heart is in a bad state, and you have need of 
much prayer to God to change that wretched heart 
of yours, and give you a forgiving temper; to put 
his Spirit into you, and give you a new heart, full 
of love to every body. Did not Jesus pray to God 
to forgive those who had nailed him to the cross ? 
And will you dare to call yourselves his followers, 
if you are unwilling to forgive an injury? Are 
not you sinning against God continually ? And 
can you expect him to have mercy upon you, if 
you refuse to shew mercy to a fellow-sinner 1 — 
These questions plainly teach us, that as followers 
of Christ, expectiug mercy of God through him, we 
must drive feelings of hatred and revenge from our 
hearts, and keep in their room feelings of love and 
forgiveness. 

But let us attend to what our Saviour continued 
to say upon this : he said, " therefore is the king- 
dom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which 
would take account of his servants. And when he 
had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, 
which owed him ten thousand talents. But foras- 
much as he had not to pay, his lord commanded 
him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all 
that he had, and payment to be made. The ser- 
vant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, say- 
ing, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay 
thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved 



SERMON XIII. 



79 



with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him 
the debt. But the same servant went out, and 
found one of his fellow servants, which owed him 
an hundred pence ; and he laid hands on him, and 
took him by the throat, saying ; pay me that thou 
owest. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, 
and besought him, saying, have patience with me, 
and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but 
went and cast him into prison, till he should pay 
the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what 
was done, they were very sorry, and came and told 
unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, 
after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou 
wicked servant, 1 forgave thee all that debt, be- 
cause thou desiredst me : shouldest not thou also 
have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as 
I had pity on thee ] And his lord was wroth, arid 
delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay 
all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my 
heavenly Father, do also unto you, if ye from your 
hearts forgive not every one his brother their tres- 
passes." 

Now in hearing this read to you, you think that, 
that servant, who would not forgive the small debt 
of his fellow-servant, when his lord had just for- 
given him so large a debt, was a very hard hearted 
and cruel man : you are ready to speak against his 
ingratitude, and his want of charity and mercy, and 
to say that he well deserved the punishment which 
his lord inflicted on him : but in condemning him, 
take heed lest you condemn yourselves; for we are 
all of us too apt to do, just as he did. Which of sis 
can say that we are not as guilty as he was ? We 
are all of us indebted to God, more than ten times 
ten thousand talents ; as soon as we were born, the 



80 



SERMON Xtll. 



debt began ; for we were born in sin : every day 
since, the debt has been increasing, for who is there 
that lives one day without sin % and most justly 
might God cast us into the prison of hell. 

But could we, as this man did, fall down before 
him, and say, Lord, have mercy on me, and I will 
pay thee all % Can any of us tell how much we 
have sinned against God 1 No : the number of 
our sins is too great for us to tell; the weight of our 
sins is too heavy for us to bear; all that we can say 
is, " who can tell how oft he offendeth V " If thou 
Lord shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall 
stand V But although we cannot count our many 
sins, although we deserve punishment on account 
of them, and cannot make amends to God for all 
that we have done amiss ; yet it is a great comfort 
to know, that " there is forgiveness with him," for 
every one who truly repents of his sins, and be- 
lieves in Jesus Christ who died for sinners. For 
his sake, if you are truly penitent, God freely for- 
gives you. He speaks most comfortably in his holy 
Bible : " though your sins be as scarlet, they shall 
be as white as snow; though they be red like crim- 
son, they shall be as wool.' , " I, even I, am he, 
that blotteth out thy transgressions, and will not 
remember thy sins." 

But after this, after this offer of a full and free 
pardon of your immense load of sin, through the 
merits of the death of Christ, will you, as this ser- 
vant did, go forth, and finding a fellow-servant, who 
has done you some little harm, lay hands on him, 
and take him by the throat, saying, pay me that 
thou owest 1 Can you be severe with a fellow-sin- 
ner, and refuse to forgive him, when you cry to 
God every day for mercy 1 Can you refuse to for- 



SERMON XIII. 



81 



give a fellow-sinner, when the blood of Jesus was 
shed for him as well as for you ] If any of you 
are unwilling to forgive an offending brother, you 
see here what you will come to. His lord said to 
this servant, " O thou wicked servant, I forgave 
thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me : 
shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy 
fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee 1 And 
his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tor- 
mentors, till he should pay all that was due unto 
him." And our Saviour then said, " So likewise 
shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye 
from your hearts forgive not every one his brother 
their trespasses." Surely, my brethren, this is a 
a great matter to attend to. If you let your bad 
tempers get the better of you, if you bear malice or 
hatred in your hearts, if you are unkind to each 
other, you are in danger of losing your souls. — 
Jesus died for you : if you desire him to be your 
Saviour, try and become like him. Be like him, 
mild, and meek, and patient, and forgiving. " When 
he was reviled, he reviled not again ; when he suf- 
fered, he threatened not." Pray to God that you 
may be of the same mind ; pray that you may have 
his Spirit dwelling in you ; that your stony hearts 
may be softened, and that you may be brought " to 
love your enemies, to bless them that curse you, 
and to pray for them which despitefuily use you, 
and persecute you." Labor much to get this pa- 
tient and forgiving temper ; pray much to be con- 
formed in this, to the image of Christ ; and you will 
be true children of your heavenly Father, preparing 
for that place of eternal rest and happiness, in which 
love, perfect love, will bind all the saints together 
in a bond never to be broken. 



SERMON XIV. 



Matthew xxv. 13. — Watch therefore, for ye know neither the 
day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh. 

Our Saviour Jesus Christ was speaking a para- 
ble to his disciples, and when he had finished it, he 
charged them to watch ; he also told them that they 
should live in a watchful state, because they knew 
not either the day or the hour in which he would 
come again to judge the world. And is not this the 
case with us ? We do not know when the day of 
judgment shall come : we do not know at what 
moment we may die ; surely then, we too, ought to 
w r atch ; we ought to be ready for the coming of our 
Lord ; we ought to be so living by faith in him, 
that at any moment we may die in peace. 

The parable which our Lord was speaking was 
that of the ten virgins ; and in it he shows the folly 
of neglecting to attend to the health of the soul, 
and the wisdom of being always prepared for the 
day of our death. He said, " then shall the king- 
dom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which 
took their lamps and went forth to meet the bride- 
groom, and five of them were wise, and five were 
foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps 
and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in 
their vessels with their lamps." Our Saviour 
teaches us that the kingdom of heaven, that is, the 

o 7 7 

state of things in his Church in this world, shall, in 
the day of judgment, appear to be like the case of 
ten virgins who had been invited to a marriage 



SERMON XIV. 



S3 



feast, and who took their lamps and went out to 
meet the bridegroom, that they might go in with 
him to the wedding supper. 

Our blessed Lord himself is the bridegroom, and 
his Church is called in the Bible his bride. By 
using these names, God, in great mercy to us, 
shews how closely the Church is united to Jesus 
Christ. That as those whom he joins together in 
marriage are said to be no longer two, but one 
flesh, so is the Church of Christ, which he pur- 
chased with his blsod, closely joined to him. It is 
his ; it is " his body, the fulness of him that filleth 
all in all." But as the Church, in this world, has 
within it persons of every description; children 
even of the wicked one among the children of God, 
so five of these virgins are spoken of as wise, and 
five as foolish. The wise virgins shewed their 
wisdom by taking some oil along with them, so 
that they might keep their lamps burning, and the 
foolish ones shewed their folly by neglecting to take 
a supply of oil with them. 

Let us now apply this to the members of the 
Church of Christ. In the holy sacrament of bap- 
tism, the sinful children of Adam are made mem- 
bers of Christ's Church, and in his Church there is 
every provision made for the spiritual growth of all 
his members, so that they may, at the last day, be 
found " meet to be partakers of the inheritance of 
the saints in light." But of all those multitudes 
who are admitted into Christ's Church at their bap- 
tism, it must be said that some only are wise, while 
the rest are all foolish. The wise Christians shew 
their wisdom by carefully keeping the oil of divine 
grace in their hearts. They do not think it enough 
just to carry their lamps with them, that is, just to 



84 



SERMON XiV. 



be called disciples of Jesus Christ; but they are 
diligent in the use of all the means of grace which 
their Lord has appointed. It is their desire that 
the oil of divine grace, the Holy Spirit, may be 
always in their hearts, and they gi^e themselves 
unto prayer, both in private and in public. In pri- 
vate, at home, it is their habit to come every day to 
the throne of grace that they may obtain mercy, 
and find grace to help them in every time of need. 
In public, at Church, they join the people of God 
in praying for mercy and grace, in hearing the word 
of God, and especially in partaking of the Lord's 
supper, in remembrance of the death of our dear 
Saviour, and through the grace given to them, they 
endeavour to walk always in the way of God's 
commandments, and to become holy, as he is holy. 

The foolish Christians, too, shew their folly, by 
thinking that it will do just to take their lamps with 
them without any oil; that is, just to call them- 
selves Christians, without having divine grace in 
their hearts, without seeking in diligent prayer for 
daily supplies of this heavenly grace, and without 
endeavoring to lead that holy life, which every one 
who hopes to be saved, by Jesus Christ, must do. 

Now, my brethren, you know that a lamp, with- 
out oil, is useless : so if any of you are Christians 
only in name, what good will it do you ? It would 
have been better for you never to have known the 
way of salvation through Christ crucified, than after 
knowing this, to turn away from the service of the 
Holy Jesus to the service of the world, the flesh, 
and the devil. Think then often how greatly God 
has blessed you in taking you into covenant with 
Him, through Jesus Christ our Saviour : and be 
very diligent in prayer to Him, that the Holy Spi- 



SERMON XIV. 



85 



rit may be given to you, and may keep you stead- 
fast in the faith and obedience of the gospel. Be 
careful also to attend the public service of his 
Church, with an humble and prayerful spirit, and 
thus you will be carrying oil with you in your 
lamps. 

Our Lord next says in the parable, " while the 
bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept." 
Even the wise virgins slept as well as the foolish. 
This brings to our minds the weakness even of 
good Christians. They are too apt, through the 
weakness of their mortal nature, to be off their 
guard sometimes, and to relax somewhat from that 
watchfulness and prayerful state which is so neces- 
sary for the good of the soul. We should never 
lose sight of our Saviour's caution : 44 Watch and 
pray, lest ye enter into temptation. " 

44 And at midnight there was a cry made, behold 
the bridegroom cometh. go ye out to meet him. 
Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their 
lamps, and the foolish said unto the wise, give us 
of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. But the 
wise answered, saying, not so : lest there be not 
enough for us and you ; but go ye rather to them 
that sell and buy for yourselves." When the cry 
was made, 44 behold the bridegroom cometh ;" the 
wise virgins trimmed their lamps with the oil which 
they carried with them, and were prepared to meet 
him. So will it be with wise Christians at the hour 
of death. When sickness overtakes them, and death 
is before them, they will find that the grace of their 
precious Saviour, in whom they have trusted, and 
whom they followed during their pilgrimage here, 
is sufficient for them ; they will enjoy the comfort 
of his holy religion, and w T ill look forward with a 



SERMON XIV. 



good hope to the resurrection at the last clay, when 
they shall be raised up from their graves by the 
voice of the Son of Man, and by the trumpet of the 
Archangel ; believing that they shall stand amongst 
those who have washed their robes, and made them 
white in the blood of the Lamb. 

But the lamps of the foolish virgins went out — 
they then saw their folly. The bridegroom was 
coming — they had no oil. How could they get 
any ? They applied to the wise : the wise had 
enough only for themselves. What were they to 
do l At this last moment they thought of going to 
buy it. So it is with foolish Christians ; those who 
are Christians only in name: they let day after day, 
month after month, year after year pass away, 
without truly repenting of their sins, without really 
loving and obeying their Saviour, who bought 
them w r ith his blood, without seeking to be made 
clean from sin by faith in that atoning blood, with- 
out praying continually for the grace of the Holy 
Spirit, without anxiously keeping in the path of 
holiness, that that Spirit may not be taken away 
from them: but at last the hand of death lays hold 
of them, and they see their folly. They are all 
amazement; they have neglected to follow Jesus, 
and they know not how to look to him as their 
Saviour : they have called themselves Christians, 
but have neglected to seek the anointing of the 
Holy Spirit through Christ, and cannot know the 
comfort and consolation of this promised gift. — 
What is to be done 1 Is there yet time to seek and 
obtain the mercy which has for so long a time been 
despised ? Oh it is dangerous : it is the part of 
madness to put off, until the dying hour, the pre- 
paration for eternity. For as our Lord continues 



SERMON XIV. 



137 



in the parable, " and while they went to buy, the 
bridegroom came, and they that were ready went 
in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. 
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, 
Lord, Lord, open unto us. But he answered and 
said, verily I say unto you, I know you not." 

The wise virgins being ready, went in with the 
bridegroom to the marriage ; and all wise Chris- 
tians will watch and pray always, and will strive 
to live in a state of readiness for their death, that 
in the great day their happiness may be made cora- 
plete by their entering into the joy of theii Lord. 
But against all others, the door will be shut; and 
as the foolish virgins, coming too late, received the 
answer " I know you not," so will it be said to all 
foolish Christians who do not follow Jesus in a 
good life. So will it be said to all who will not 
repent of their sins and lead a new life ; who will 
not so believe in Jesus Christ as to follow the foot- 
steps of his most holy life ; who will not so pray 
for the Holy Spirit as to have this precious gift 
abiding; in them, making them new creatures in 
Christ Jesus. 

How does our Saviour end this parable ] " watch 
therefore, for ye know neither the day, nor the 
hour, wherein the Son of Man cometh." Watch, 
my brethren, you know not what day, what hour, 
what moment, your life here may end. But is this 
all your life ? No: an eternity is before you. You 
must be forever either in heaven or in hell. Watch 
and pray therefore, that you may be ready for your 
death, ready for the judgment, ready for heaven. 
Do you w T ish to be in the condition of the foolish 
virgins, not ready ? There is no condition more 
unhappy ; more dangerous, more to be dreaded. 



Sermon xiv. 



Do you say that there is yet time ? We need not 
yet begin to serve the Lord ] Remember, that 
while the foolish virgins went to buy, the bride- 
groom came : those only that were ready entered 
in, and the door was shut. Do not then foolishly 
put off attending to the saving of your souls, lest 
you die in your sins, and be lost forever. The 
Lord still spares you ; let the riches of his good- 
ness, and long suffering, and forbearance lead you 
all to unfeigned repentance, and faith, and obedi- 
ence. " Watch and pray always, for ye know 
neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of 
Man cometh." 



SERMON XV. 



Matthew xxv. 31. — When the Son of Man shall come in his 
glory, and all the holy Angels with him, then shall he sit upon the 
throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations. 

Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, here speaks 
of his coming again in glory to judge the world. 
As we shall, each of us, be judged in that day ac- 
cording to our works; as each of us shall then begin 
an eternity either of great joy or of great misery, 
let us now attend to this important subject, that 
through the grace of God, we may in that day "be 
accounted worthy to stand before the Son of Man. ' ? 

Oar Lord says, " when the Son of Man shall 
come in his glory, and all the holy Angels with him, 
then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory :" — 
The Son of Man, who once came in a state of humi- 
liation, in the form of a servant, to be a man of sor- 
rows, and to suffer and die for all mankind : this 
same person shall corne again, but in a far different 
manner; he shall come in the clouds of heaven, in 
great glory, and all the holy angels with him : his 
glorious voice shall then be heard, and the voice of 
the archangels, and the trumpet of God. " And 
before him shall be gathered all nations :" all the 
living, scattered over the whole world, shall hear 
those mighty voices, and must obey: all the dead 
too, wherever they may be, shall hear the same 
mighty voices, and must obey the call ; for it is 
written, " the sea shall give up the dead which are 
in it ; and the graves shall give up the dead which 



90 



SERMON XV. 



are in them." And shall each of you, my brethren, 
hear the voice of the great Judge, and the sound of 
the trumpet ] Yes ; you shall hear, and you must 
obey the call. So live then the remainder of your 
days, that you may hear it and obey with joy. 

When all people shall be gathered before him, 
" he shall separate them one from another, as a 
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats ; and he 
shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats 
on the left." That, my brethren, will be an awful 
time, when this separation shall be going on ; when 
the holy angels, at the command of the great Judge 
shall be gathering together, all the obedient follow- 
ers of Christ, and be setting them on the right hand 
side of the judgment seat; and shall place all the 
remainder on the left* Remember that each of you 
must be present ; remember that the great Judge 
can make no mistake ; and that you shall be placed 
on one side or on the other, according as in this 
world you have believed in, and obeyed him or not. 
How full of joy and thanksgiving will you be, if 
you shall find yourselves placed on the right hand ; 
but how full of misery and despair, if the left shall 
be appointed as your portion. What then ought 
you to do ? From the present moment, until you 
die, seek the grace of God with increasing diligence 
that you may repent more of your sins, that you 
may have greater faith in God's mercy through 
Christ, that you be more obedient, to him every 
day. Follow this course continually, and you may 
hope to rise from the dead with joy at the resur- 
rection in the last day. 

When the righteous shall be set on the right 
hand, and the wicked on the left, " then shall the 
King say unto them on his right band, eome ye 



SERMON XV, 



91 



blessed of ray Father, inherit the kingdom prepar- 
ed for you from the foundation of the world." — 
You see how graciously the great King will speak 
to them : he will tell them to come to him, whose 
members they were made at their baptism : to 
come to him, in whom they believed, whom they 
loved, and served while they were here. He will 
call them the blessed of his Father. : they were 
made children of God at their baptism ; they spent 
their days on earth as children of God, obeying 
him, seeking him continually through his Son, and 
by his Spirit ; they were consequently blessed by 
him here, and shall be blessed in his presence for- 
ever. He will tell them to inherit the kingdom 
prepared for them from the foundation of the 
world ; that heavenly kingdom which he, in his 
death, opened to all believers ; that glorious king- 
dom of which they, at their baptism, had been 
made inheritors ; that kingdom wherein dwelleth 
righteousness, and for which they had been contin- 
ually preparing by faith in tneir Saviour's merits, 
by obedience to his commands, and by praying for 
the Holy Spirit. Do you hope that in that day he 
will say to you, come ? If so, let your belief in 
him as your Saviour, and your obedience to him as 
your Lord and Master, shew that you are not in- 
dulging a vain hope. Do you hope that he will 
call you, the blessed of his Father 1 If so, let your 
earnest prayers to your Heavenly Father, for 
mercy and grace, through Christ, and your con- 
stant endeavour to do his will, prove that you are 
indeed his children. Do you hope to inherit the 
kingdom of heaven ? If so, let your daily hunger- 
ing and thirsting after righteousness, let your 

H 



92 



SERMON XV. 



repentance for your past sins, and your growth in 
holiness of living shew that Christ is formed in you 
the hope of glory. 

The great King and Judge of men shall go on to 
tell those on the right hand why he approves of 
them : and I beg you to observe how their faith in 
Jesus, and their love to him, made them try and 
please him in every thing that they did. He shall 
say, " for I was an hungered, and ye gave me 
meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was 
a stranger, and ye took me in ; naked, and ye 
clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited me ; I was 
in prison, and ye came unto me." The righteous, 
to whom this shall be addressed, are represented 
as not understanding how their Lord could speak 
to them in this way : 6< they shall answer him, say- 
ing, Lord when saw we thee an hungered, and fed 
thee, or thirsty, and gave thee drink ? or when saw 
we thee a stranger, and took thee in, or naked and 
clothed thee % Or when saw we thee sick or in pri- 
son, and came unto thee V 1 Now mark the answer 
of our Lord, " And the King shall answer and say 
unto them, verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye 
have done it unto one of the least of these my 
brethren, ye have done it unto me." That is, be : 
cause your faith in me, and your love to me, moved 
you to do good to the least, the poorest of my fol- 
lowers, whom I regard as my brethren, I look upon 
it as if you did the good to me myself. 

Now, my brethren, you say that you hope to be 
saved through Jesus Christ, who died for you ; but 
do your faith in him, and your love to him shew 
themselves in any way ? do they bring forth in you 
any good works ] do they make you do any thing 
for him, who so loved you as to shed his blood for 



SERMON XV. 



93 



you 1 You see that if, in the great day, you would 
be placed on the right hand, you must, from love 
to Jesus, be kind to one another, and be ready to 
help any one as much as you can. You must do 
this from love to Jesus, and with a desire to please 
him. You must endeavour to shew, by doing good 
to others for Jesus' sake, that you are building your 
hope of heaven upon the only foundation, Jesus 
Christ crucified for the sins of the world. And you 
should pray diligently to God for the grace of his 
Spirit, that you may have the same feeling, and the 
same desire always. Thus in your daily work, 
you should try and keep the Lord before you, and 
do it as to him, and not to man. "When tempted 
to commit any sin, you should resist the temptation, 
saying with Joseph, "how can I do this wicked- 
ness, and sin against God V 9 When any one of- 
fends you, you should, from love to Jesus, forgive 
him, and pray for him. If in this way you act 
from love to God, and with a desire to please him, 
you may enjoy a comfortable hope, that our Saviour 
in whom you are trusting, and whose Spirit you 
seek for your guide, will, as your Judge, say to 
you, 44 Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of 
the world." 

But what shall he say to the wicked on the left 
hand ? to them he shall say, " depart from me, ye 
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil 
and his angels." He will tell them to depart : they 
did not while here seek him by repentance and faith; 
they did not obey him ; and he will drive them 
from him. He shall call them cursed : they were 
born into this world in sin, children of wrath : they 
did not seek the mercy and grace of God through 



94 



SERMON XV. 



that precious Saviour, who, to redeem us from the 
curse of God's law, was content to be made a curse 
for us : they lived like children of disobedience, 
and in the day of judgment they can inherit only 
a curse. And whither shall they depait? "Into 
everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his an- 
gels." Into that same horrible pit, which was 
prepared only for the devil, and all w T icked spirits, 
shall these wicked children of men be cast, who 
would not come to Jesus Christ, that their souls 
might be saved. 

The great Judge shall then declare, that they 
were wanting in all those good works, which, if 
they had been done from love to him, would have 
marked them as good Christians. " For I was an 
hungered, and ye gave me no meat ; I was thirsty 
and ye gave me no drink ; 1 was a stranger and ye 
took me not in ; naked and ye clothed me not ; sick 
and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall 
they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we 
thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or 
naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister 
unto thee ? Then shall he answer them, saying, 
verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to 
one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." As 
they did not, for their Saviour's sake ; and from 
love to him, abstain from evil and do good, they 
must hear those dreadful words, " depart from me, 
ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the 
devil and his angels." 

This passage of scripture, my brethren, brings 
the proceedings of the day of judgment very plainly 
before you. You know that you must all be there, 
and be set either on the right hand or on the left. 
And through the mercy and goodness of God, you 



SERMON XV. 



95 



may now so live, by faith in Jesus Christ, as to se- 
cure a place on the right hand. But has the good- 
ness of God brought you all to repentance, to a 
living faith in Jesus Christ, to a willing obedience 
to him, to earnest prayer for the gift of the Holy 
Spirit? Think of these things, my brethren; live 
each day as if it were your last, and prepare to 
meet your God in judgment. 



SERMON XVI. 



Luke v. 12, 13.— And it came to pass, w hen he was in a cer- 
tain city, behold, a man full of leprosy; who, seeing Jesus, fell 
on his face and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou 
canst make me clean. And he put forth his hand and touched 
him, saying, I will ; be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy 
departed from him. 

In this place we read of a diseased man, a leper, 
coming to Jesus, to be healed of his dreadful dis- 
ease ; and we see how readily our Saviour shewed 
mercy to the poor man, and made him well. These 
wonderful works our Lord was always doing, and 
if we have ears to hear about all that he did, we 
shall receive much good in our souls. 

" And it came to pass, when he was in a certain 
city, behold, a man full of leprosy." This leprosy 
was a disease that was rather common among the 
Jews ; and those who were afflicted with it, were 
in a very unhappy state : they not only had to bear 
a very bad sickness, but by the law which God gave 
to his people Israel, they were looked upon as un- 
clean ; they were not permitted to come into the 
temple of God to worship him there, and were ob- 
liged to separate themselves from all other people. 
So you see the leper was in a very sad state. 

From this we are plainly taught the very bad na- 
ture of sin. Sin may be called the leprosy of the 
soul. The soul is in danger of dying with the dis- 
ease of sin. You must know that it is written in 
the Bible that we are all born in sin, and are by 
nature children of wrath ; that is, children that 



SERMON XVI. 



97 



God is angry with. So that in our natural state, 
we are unclean through sin, and are not fit to appear 
in the presence of the holy God : we cannot come 
before him with clean hands and a pure heart. 

Let us now compare this, our natural state, with 
the condition of the leper. Was the leper looked 
upon as unclean, and therefore forbidden to enter 
into the house of God, with his people ? So, until 
the sins of men are washed away in the blood of 
Jesus, and their hearts are changed and made new 
by the Holy Spirit, they are unclean in the sight of 
God : as long as they continue with the leprosy of 
sin upon them, they cannot be true worshippers 
and servants of God, and if they live and die in sin, 
they shall not enter into heaven, for God cannot 
look upon iniquity ; into heaven nothing can enter 
which defileth. 

Was the leper commanded to separate himself 
from God's people, lest he should defile them 1 lest 
he should give to them his dreadful disease ? And 
what is more contaminating than sin 1 If the people 
of God are fond of being much with those whose 
souls are filled with the leprosy of sin, they will 
run the risk of becoming like them, and of sharing 
in the punishment reserved for all the ungodly. — 
Thus, to repeat what I have said, the case of the 
leper shews us the very bad nature of sin. Sin is 
the disease of the soul. The love of sin cuts man 
oft from the favor of God ; the love of sin shuts hea- 
ven against him, and drasfs him down to hell. O 
what a blessing it is that there is forgiveness with 
God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

But let us go on with the account of this man, 
full of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he " fell on 
his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou 



98 



SERMON XVI, 



wilt, thou canst make me clean." You see how 
anxious this man was to be healed. Do you not 
think it made him sad to have such a disease upon 
him, which not only of itself afflicted him, but which 
shut him out from the house of God, and made the 
people avoid him ] Yes, he felt the grievous state 
that he was in, and as soon as he could, he came to 
Jesus, and fell on his face before him, and cried, 
" Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." 

Have you, my brethren, ever felt the leprosy of 
sin in your souls % Have you ever been made sad 
on thinking that you are miserable sinners ] Have 
you ever been filled with grief, that because you 
are defiled by sin, you are unworthy of the favor of 
God, and deserve to be shut out from his presence 
for ever 1 If you have felt in this way, you must 
have often done as this leper did ; you must have 
often fallen upon your knees, confessed your many 
sins to God, asked forgiveness for the sake of Jesus 
Christ who died for sinners, and prayed for the 
Holy Spirit to make your hearts holy and clean, 

But have any of you never felt sorry that you 
have sinned against the Holy God ] Do any of you 
never grieve at the thought, that for your sins you 
deserve to be shut out from God for ever 1 Do any 
of you never kneel down before him, and confess 
your sins, and pray for pardon and for grace in the 
name of that Saviour who shed his blood for you 1 
If any of you are thus living carelessly in sin, con- 
sider your ways, I pray you ; let the certainty of 
death, the judgment in the last day, the eternal 
pains of hell, bring you at once to repentance. Let 
the mercy of God, in sending his own Son to die 
for you ; let the goodness of God, in bearing with 
you so long, bring you to repentance. Do as this 



SERMON XVI. 



99 



leper did ; cry to our Saviour, Jesus Christ, as he 
did ; " Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me 
clean." See, also, the strong faith of this man, 
full of leprosy : " Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst 
make me clean. " The man did not doubt the power 
of our Lord. Have you like faith in Jesus, the 
Saviour of sinners ] You should often pray, " Lord, 
increase my faith." " Lord, I believe, help thou 
mine unbelief." We know, we are sure, that he 
is both willing and able to save us. We know it, 
for he came and died for us : we know it, for he is 
now in heaven pleading for us, and sending the 
Holy Spirit to all who ask. 

Think then often, with sorrow, of all your sins 
past : fall down before God, and confess them, and 
cry with faith to Jesus as this leper did, " Lord, if 
thou wilt, thou canst make me clean ;" and you will 
find to your comfort that the " blood of Jesus 
Christ cleanseth from all sin." 

Did our Lord take any notice of this leprous 
man crying so earnestly ] Yes, his ear was always 
open to the cry of the miserable : his hand was 
always ready to help the needy. He " put forth 
his hand and touched him, saying, I will : be thou 
clean ; and immediately the leprosy departed from 
him." Behold here the mercy of Jesus. No sooner 
did he see this unhappy leper fall down before him : 
no sooner did the cry of distress, the cry for help, 
reach his ear, than his hand was stretched out to 
help ; the word of mercy went out from his lips. 
And is he not now the same 1 " Is his hand shor- 
tened, that it cannot save 1 Is his ear heavy, that it 
cannot hear?" " He is the same yesterday, and 
to-day, and for ever." Only confess your sins to 
him, with a desire to forsake them : only believe 



100 



SERMON XVI. 



that he is mighty to save : only cry for mercy, — 
" Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner," and he will 
surely hear you and help you, and will give you 
all the mercy that you want. He invites such poor 
sinners as we are to come to him : " Come unto 
me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I 
will give you rest," 

See also the power of Jesus. " I will, be thou 
clean :" " his word was with power :" " he spake 
and it was done :" and he is always the same :— 
" with him is no variableness, neither shadow of 
turning." Only come to him as he tells you to do : 
come, repenting of your past sins ; determined, 
through his grace, to lead a new life ; come, be- 
lieving in him, the only Saviour, believing that his 
body was broken for you, that his blood w r as shed 
for you : come with this penitent and believing 
heart, and you may comfort yourselves by thinking 
that this word of mercy and power is spoken to 
every penitent sinner. " I will : be thou clean," 

But let me ask you, my brethren, how are you 
all living % Are you in the habit of repenting of 
your past sins ? Do you wish, do you try to lead a 
life of holiness ] Do you deny yourselves in sinful 
practises which you like, and make it your meat and 
drink to do the will of God % And are you diligent 
in prayer, that you may have a stronger faith in 
Jesus, and may have the Holy Spirit abiding in 
your hearts ? Ask yourselves these questions, and 
delay not to lead the life of a follower of Jesus. 
The night of death will soon overtake you, and 
then no work can be done. Blessed is that ser- 
vant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find 
watching. 



SERMON XVII. 



Ll'KE x. 37. — Then said Jesus unto him, go and do thou like- 
wise. 

In this part of the Holy Bible, we are told that a 
certain lawyer, that is, a certain teacher of God's 
law among the Jews, stood up and tempted our 
Saviour, saying, " Master, what shall I do to inherit 
eternal life V He wanted to try our Lord ; to see 
what kind of an answer he would give. And it was 
a great question which he asked. " What shall I 
do to inherit eternal life ]" There is nothing that 
we should inquire about as much as this. We 
must soon die ; how then ought we to live here, so 
as to have eternal life in heaven hereafter ? Our 
Lord answered this question, by saying to this law- 
yer, " what is written in the law 1 how readest 
thou 1 And he answering said, thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy 
soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy 
mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And Jesus 
said to him, thou hast answered right : this do and 
thou shalt live." 

This, my brethren, is what you and I, and all 
people must attend to, if we hope to be accepted in 
the day of judgment, through the merits of our Sa- 
viour Jesus Christ. 

You say, that you believe that God will forgive 
you all your past sins ; that be will look upon you 
as his adopted children ; that he will give you the 
Holy Spirit to sanctify your hearts ; that he will 



102 



SERMON XVII. 



hereafter take you to heaven ; you believe that he 
will give you these great blessings, for the sake of 
Jesus Christ, who died to save us. But this belief 
of yours must, to do you any good, be alive in you. 
You must shew that you have a lively faith in God's 
mercy through Christ : and how can you shew this] 
By attending to this word of scripture : by loving 
God with all your heart, and mind, and soul, and 
strength, and by loving your neighbor as you love 
yourselves. 

I am not now going to speak to you about the 
first of duties, love to God, and love to man. I will 
only add, that if you are indeed, looking to Jesus 
Christ, as the only Saviour of your souls, you will 
always pray very diligently in his name, that " the 
love of God may be shed abroad in your hearts, by 
the Holy Ghost given unto you ;" and that you may 
do to all men, as you would have them do to you. 

We are next told that this lawyer, " willing to 
justify himself said unto Jesus, and who is my 
neighbor V 9 He wished " to justify himself to 
shew, that as far as his duty to his neighbor was 
concerned, he had acted righteously. He therefore 
asked our Lord, " who is my neighbor?" Think- 
ing, no doubt, that what he said, would agree with 
the common saying among the Jews at that time, 
namely, that the law, which commanded them to 
love their neighbor, referred only to their own 
people, and that they might hate all other people. 
We shall see what a very different lesson our Sa- 
viour taught him ! And it is important that we 
should fully know this: the ten commandments 
teach us our duty to God, and our duty to our 
neighbor : we then ought perfectly to understand 
who is our neighbor. 



SERMON XVII. 



103 



Our Lord answered this question by speaking a 
parable. He said, " a certain man w e nt down from 
Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who 
stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and 
departed leaving him half dead." What a wretch- 
ed condition this poor traveller was in. The thieves 
took away every thing he had, even to the clothes 
that he had on : and then they wounded him, and 
left him lying naked upon the road, and half dead. 
What object more deserving of pity could be found] 
Surely, it might be said, the first person who comes 
along the road will be a neighbor to this wounded 
man, and will help him ! 

But let us see what our Saviour says : " and by 
chance there came down a certain priest that way." 
The first person that came by, was a priest of God, 
one holding the holy office of a minister of God ; 
one whose duty it was to shew the people, by his 
good life, how to serve God : he then will certainly 
be a neighbor to this poor wounded Jew, and will 
help him. But no : he did not love his neighbor as 
himself: he did not know how to do to others, as 
he would have them do to him : and when he saw 
this poor wounded man lying naked on the road, 
he crossed over to the other side and went on his 
journey, leaving him to perish. The next person 
who came along was a Levite : this was another of 
the ministers of God, and he had no more compas- 
sion, no more love for his neighbor^ than the one 
who had just gone before him. He came and look- 
ed upon the wretched dying man, and passed by 
on the other side. The next person that came 
alon^ the road, was one, who knew how to look 
upon any one in distress as his neighbor " But a 
certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he 



104 



SERMON XVII. 



was." These Samaritans lived close by the Jews; 
but the Samaritans and the Jews had no dealings 
with one another : the one people hated and des- 
pised the other people. We might suppose then, 
that when this Samaritan, travelling through the 
Jew's country, the country of his enemies, came to 
where the wounded and dying Jew was lying, he 
too would pass by on the other side. But no : he 
did not think about this man's being an enemy : he 
did not think about trouble and expense : he did 
not let any such thoughts keep him from doing 
good : here was a fellow-creature in distress, and 
immediately he acted the part of a neighbor. — 
" When he saw him, he had compassion on him, 
and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pour- 
ing in oil and wine." But was that all that he did] 
No : if he had merely dressed his wounds, and left 
him, he might still have died upon the road ; he 
therefore " set him on his own beast, and brought 
him to an inn, and took care of him." But his kind- 
ness did not stop there : the man was so badly 
wounded, that he required care and attendance for 
many weeks. On the morrow therefore, when 
this good Samaritan was about to proceed on his 
journey, he gave some money to the man that kept 
the inn, and said, " take care of him, and whatso- 
ever thou spendest more, when I come again I will 
repay thee." 

When our Lord had spoken this parable, he 
said to the lawyer, who had asked him the question 
" and who is my neighbor V 9 " which now of these 
three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that 
fell among the thieves ?" The man could not he- 
sitate a moment : he said " he that shewed mercy 
on him." Yes, the Priest and the Levite, who 



SERMON XVII. 



105 



passed by on the other side, did not love their 
neighbor as themselves; though this wounded man 
was their own countryman. But the Samaritan 
shewed mercy even on an enemy; he shewed that 
he knew what charity meant ; he shewed that he 
knew who his neighbor was. Our Lord then said 
to this man, that put the question to him, " go, and 
do thou likewise." And in this way he shewed 
him, that the Jews, who used to say that they were 
to love only their own nation, and might hate all 
other people, were in very great error. And he 
speaks the same words to each of us ; " go, and do 
thou likewise." If you wish to be followers of 
Jesus Christ, love one another. If you hope to 
receive mercy from God through Christ, shew 
mercy to one another ; be a neighbor to every one, 
whether you look upon him as your friend or your 
enemy. If you hope to be indeed God's children 
through Christ, you must imitate God in being kind 
to every body, just as he makes his sun to rise on 
the evil, and on the good, and sends rain on the 
just and on the unjust. But you know that you 
cannot root out hatred from your hearts, and have 
love, christian love in its place, unless you have the 
Holy Spirit dwelling in you : and our Saviour says 
" God will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask." 
Ask, therefore, in the name of Christ : give your- 
selves to prayer ; and if you desire this most preci- 
ous gift, so that you may believe in, and follow our 
Lord and only Saviour Jesus Christ, you will sure- 
ly find that his words are true ; " every one that 
asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and 
to him that knocketh it shall be opened." 



SERMON XVIII. 



Luke xviii. 35—43. — And it came to pass, that; as be w as 
come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side 
begging And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked wdiat it 
meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by 
And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on 
me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold 
his peace ; but he cried so much the more, thou Son of David, have 
mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be 
brought unto him : and when he was come near, he asked him, 
saying, what wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, 
Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, 
receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately 
he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God : and all 
the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God. 

We have here the account of Jesus giving sight 
to a blind man. As long as our Lord remained 
upon earth, he went about doing good. Wherever 
he went, the sick, and the diseased, and the blind, 
and the lame, and the miserable came to him ; and 
none ever came in vain. He spoke, and they were 
healed ; or he touched them, and they were made 
perfectly well. He was thus always shewing his 
pity and love for us poor creatures ; he was always 
giving proof of his readiness to help us. 

We read, " and it came to pass, that as he was 
come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by 
the wayside begging." Now, this was a very sad 
state for a poor man to be in. He was blind ; he 
could not therefore work to get himself food and 
clothing ; and he sat down by the way side, and 
asked people that were passing by to give him 



SERMON XVIII. 



107 



something. While he was thus sitting and beg- 
ging, he heard a multitude of people pass by, and 
he asked what it meant ; and they told him that 
44 Jesus of Nazareth passeth by." Now, he bad 
heard of Jesus : he had heard of the wonderful 
works which he was always doing : he had heard 
that he was always ready to help those in need. 
Therefore, as soon as he heard that Jesus was pas- 
sing by, he cried, saying, " Jesus, thou Son of 
David, have mercy on me," You see what this 
man did : he felt his blindness, he knew that he 
could nut see, and this was a grief to him ; and as 
soon as he could, he cried to Jesus for mercy. 

Now, all people are naturally, in their minds, in 
the same state that this poor man was. I, and you, 
and all people are, by nature, in a blind and dark, 
and dead state. We cannot, of ourselves, see the 
way to heaven ; we cannot, of ourselves, find the 
narrow gate which leads to heaven : we cannot, of 
ourselves, understand the word of God : we are, 
naturally, as blind in our souls as this man was in 
his eyes. But is there any help for us ] Is there 
any one to whom we may cry for mercy ] Is there 
any one to give light to our dark souls ] Yes : the 
same Jesus, to whom this blind man cried for 
mercy, is always ready to receive and to help those 
who truly turn to him. He is always ready to 
help them to turn from the darkness of sin to the 
light of holiness and truth. His word is, " Come 
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, 
and I will give you rest." And he says in another 
place, " I am come a light into the world, that 
whosoever believeth on me should not abide in 
darkness." If, then, you feel your sinfulness and 
unworthiness, as this man did his blindness ; if the 



10S 



SERMON XVIII. 



many sins you commit are a grief to you, as this 
man's blindness distressed him, you will thank God 
that there is a Saviour, Jesus Christ, the righteous : 
you will thank God, when you remember that " the 
blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." You 
will thank God for the promised gift of the Holy 
Ghost, the Comforter, to abide in the hearts of his 
faithful people, making them new creatures, guid- 
ing them into all truth. You will want the light of 
truth in your souls, and will come every day, by 
prayer and faith to Jesus, the light of the world, 
taking up this cry of the blind man, " Jesus, thou 
Son of David, have mercy on me." 

When the blind man had cried out in this way, 
we are told that " they which went before rebuked 
him that he should hold his peace." The people 
that w T ere going along with Jesus, told him to be 
quiet, not to cry out so. But did he attend to them 1 
No : his blindness was a sore trouble to him : he 
believed that Jesus was able to help him : " he 
wanted his eyes to be opened, and therefore, he 
cried so much the more, thou Son of David have 
mercy on me." 

In the same way, if the darkness and blindness 
of your souls is a trouble to you ; if the remem- 
brance of your past sins is a grief to you; if the 
thought of God's anger fills your hearts with trou- 
ble ; if you feel sorry that you cannot always serve 
God as the Bible teaches you ; if you are hunger- 
ing and thirsting after righteousness, so that you 
may become fitted for heaven, you will never cease 
crying to Jesus to have mercy on you. If all the 
world should tell you to hold your peace, that will 
not stop you ; if you want your souls to be saved ; 
knowing that Jesus died for your sins, that in him 



SERMON XVIII, 



109 



alone there is hope, that without him you are lost, 
you would cry so much the more, " Jesus, thou 
Son of David, have mercy on me." 

When the blind man continued crying out in this 
way, " Jesus stood, and commanded him to be 
brought unto him." You see here the kindness, 
the compassion of our Saviour. He felt for this 
poor man : he listened to his cry, and commanded 
him to be brought to him. And do you think he 
will let any poor repenting sinner cry to him for 
mercy, without hearing him, and without shewing 
him the mercy which he wants? No; he says, 
" come unto me, and I will give you rest." He 
says again, " him that cometh to me, I will in no 
wise cast out." And there is another very precious 
promise : "it shall come to pass, that before they 
call, I will answer; and whiles they are yet speak- 
ing, I will hear." The Lord Jesus Christ, my 
brethren, who came and died for our sins, and rose 
up again, is now our Mediator at the throne of 
grace. If you will truly repent of all your sins, 
and cry to God for mercy in his name, he will hear 
you, and will accept your prayer: you shall, through 
Jesus, receive the mercy and the grace which you 
want. 

When this blind man was come near to our Lord, 
" he asked him, saying, what wilt thou that I shall 
do unto thee 1 and he said, Lord, that I may re- 
ceive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, receive 
thy sight : thy faith hath saved thee. And immedi- 
ately he received his sight." 

It w T as this man's blindness which brought him 
to Jesus ; and when our Lord asked him what he 
should do for him, he said, " Lord, that I may re- 
i . " 



110 



SERMON XV1IL 



ceive -my sight."Ji &nd what should ^bring you Jo 
your Saviour ? Your sins, your sins should bring 
you to Jesus : your sins should make you fall down 
upon your knees, and pray to him for mercy : your 
sorrow for your sins should make you confess them 
all to God, and te should make you tell him what you 
want. Lord, that my sins may be forgiven me ;■ — 
that my sins may all be washed away in the blood 
of Jesus ; that my sinful heart may be made new 
by thy Holy Spirit. 

You see, also, that the word of our Saviour was 
with power : as soon as he said the word, the man's 
eyes were opened ; and Jesus is always the same : 
"the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever;" 
always ready to help ;f always mighty to save.^ But 
you must come to him in faith : he said to this 
man, " thy faith hath saved thee." The man did 
not doubt either the goodness or the power of 
Jesus. He felt sure that Jesus was willing and 
able to open his eyes. He came in this faith, and 
was healed. And if you desire that your sins may 
be forgiven, and your souls saved through him, you 
must|have faith in him. ^While you are repenting 
of your sins, you must believe in Jesus Christ; 
you must believe that he came into the world to 
save sinners : you must believe that when he died 
upon the cross, he died for your sins, and the sins 
of all people. You must believe that there is no 
way in which you can be saved, but in and through 
Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and rose up 
again, and who is now pleading for us in heaven, 
and is sending down the Holy Spirit to all who 
ask. Thus believe in him, thus trust in him ; thus 
look always to him the only Saviour, andjyou may 



SERMON XVIII. 



Ill 



hope that all your sins shall be blotted out through 
him. 

After this blind man had received his sight, " he 
followed Jesus, glorifying God." He felt so thank- 
ful to our Lord, that he continued with him, and he 
praised God for his goodness to him. And if you 
repent of your sins, and truly believe in Jesus 
Christ our Saviour : if you so believe in him as to 
have light in your souls instead of darkness, you 
will show it by following Jesus, and by praising 
God, not only with your lips, but in your lives. If 
you are, indeed, thankful to God for sending his 
Son to die for our sins, you will make your life of 
obedience to him speak forth his praise ; and you 
will pray constantly for the Holy Spirit that you 
may have strength to do so. Thus, to shew you 
what I mean by making your lives shew forth the 
praise of God, if any of you have been in the habit 
of telling lies, you will, from love to God, speak 
only the truth. If any of you have been in the habit 
of stealing, you will, from love to God, keep your 
hands from picking and stealing. If any of you 
have been indulging in the sins of the flesh, glut- 
tony, drunkenness, fornication, adultery, you will, 
from love to God, keep your bodies in temperance, 
soberness, and chastity. If any of you have borne 
hatred and malice in your hearts, you will, from 
love to God, love your neighbour as yourselves. If 
any of you have been disobedient, unfaithful ser- 
vants, you will henceforward, from love to God, be 
obedient servants, doing your work with good will, 
as to the Lord, and not to man. In a word : if you 
feel as this blind man did, after he was cured, your 
holy life will shew it, and thus you will praise God 
by your good life. 



112 



SERMON XVIII. 



And, my brethren, if you hope to be saved 
through Jesus Christ, your trust in hirn must bring 
about this change in you, for heaven is a place 
wherein dwelleth righteousness. Remember this: 
and while you have the opportunity, get ready for 
it, by repentance, by faith in Christ, by constant 
prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit, and by a 
cheerful obedience to the will of God in all things. 



SERMON XIX. 



John x. '27, 23. — My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, 
and they follow me : and I give unto them eternal life; and they 
shall never parish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my 
hand. 

Our Saviour Jesus Christ, here calls his people, 
his sheep : and he tells us by what marks his sheep 
are known. He says, " my sheep hear my voice, 
and they follow me." He tells us also, what a 
blessed condition theirs is : he says, "I know them:" 
I know them to belong to me. He says also, " I 
give unto them eternal life ; and they shall never 
perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my 
hand." Now is it not the first of blessings to be 
the sheep of that good Shepherd Jesus Christ ? — 
We, at our baptism, were " received into the con- 
gregation of Christ's flock :" we were then num- 
bered amongst the sheep of his pasture on earth. 
But as too many of these will not obey the Good 
Shepherd, but are like goats among the sheep, and 
will be placed on the left hand, in the day of judg- 
ment ; it is well to examiue the greatness of the 
blessings, whichj^they have, who are indeed the 
sheep of Christ, and also the marks by which they 
are known.*** In this place, you are told, that to 
enjoy the blessing of belonging to Christ, you must 
" hear his voice and follow him." Is it not the 
greatest blessing to have the Good Shepherd to 
know us ? If you would have him to know you as 
his sheep, you must " hear his voice and follow 



114 



SERMON XIX. 



him," Ought it not to be your chief desire, to re- 
ceive from that Good Shepherd eternal life % If 
such is your desire, you will " hear his voice, and 
follow him." Do you wish to be among those, 
who shall never perish, who shall never be plucked 
out of the hand of the Good Shepherd ] If so, you 
will never cease " hearing his voice, and following 
him." 

There is, as you know, my brethren, one only 
Saviour Jesus Christ. He came into this world to 
save sinners : and when he died upon the cross, he 
died for the sin of all mankind. If then you want 
your sins to be forgiven you, if you want to escape 
from the punishment of hell, if you want to be re- 
ceived into the kingdom of heaven, you must be 
always looking to that Saviour Jesus Christ. If 
you truly belong to him, you are safe: but if you 
are not his, you are in a miserably lost state. For 
this is his own word, " no man cometh unto the 
Father, but by me." 

Now it pleased him to call himself the " Good 
Shepherd :" and this name teaches us how much he 
cares for us ; how much he loves us ; and what 
great things he is still doing for us. As the " Good 
Shepherd" he came down from heaven to seek and 
to save lost man : for man had strayed away from 
the ways of God like a lost sheep : he was lost in 
the ways of sin, in the ways of darkness, in the 
ways leading down to hell. Surely the love of the 
" Good Shepherd" was very great, to bring him 
from the glory of heaven to save such a poor lost 
creature. Man was in danger of perishing in the 
snare of the devil, just as a poor wandering sheep, 
in a wild country, is in danger of being killed by 
the lion or the wolf. But Jesus Chiist, the Good 



SERMON XIX. 



115 



Shepherd, came down from heaven, to destroy the 
works of the devil, and he gave his life, for the life 
of the sheep. And all the time that he was in the 
world, how mild, and kind, and gentle he was to 
all ; doing good to all that would receive any good 
from him ; healing the bodies of the sick, speaking 
peace to the hearts of the distressed ; calling on all 
people to come to him, that they might find rest for 
their souls. And although he is now in heaven, 
sitting at the right hand of God, he is still the Good 
Shepherd, he still takes care of his sheep, guiding 
them in the right way, protecting them from dan- 
ger, feeding them with the spiritual food of his 
gospel, and preparing them for the rich and eternal 
blessings of heaven. Surely the love of the Good 
Shepherd Jesus Christ, to his poor wandering 
sheep in this world, is great indeed. And ought 
not we love him in return ] Oh pray to God to 
help you to love him, who so loved you, as to 
come from heaven to die for you. Pray to God to 
help you to be always obedient to this Good Shep- 
herd, who cares for us, and who intercedes for us 
in heaven. 

"We cannot have any doubt as to the love of God 
towards us, and his desire that all of us should be 
saved. " He so loved the world that he gave his 
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." 
And he will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask. 
So that if any one here is not walking in the way 
that leads to heaven, it is his own doing ; he is 
bringing down the anger of God upon his own 
guilty head ; he is willingly going along the broad 
road that leads to hell. That we may all under- 
stand, how the case stands with us, whether we are 



116 



SERMON XiX. 



in the broad road leading to destruction, or in the 
narrow road leading to heaven, let us see what our 
Lord says about his sheep, and the mark by which 
they are known. 

The Good Shepherd says, " my sheep hear my 
voice." They are glad to hear all that Jesus says 
in the Bible ; and they hear with the intention of 
doing whatever he commands. Now you can soon 
find out whether you bear this mark of the " sheep 
of God's pasture." You can say to yourselves, am 
I hearing the voice of my Saviour ? Do I love to 
hear the w 7 ord of Jesus in the, Bible ] and when I 
hear it, do I try to do it 1 That you may the better 
understand this, I will speak of a few plain com- 
mands which our Lord gives. He tells us to repent 
of our sins. Do you hear him and obey him in 
this % Are you sorry for your sins, and do you try 
to forsake them ] Do you pray to God for his 
Holy Spirit to teach you to repent, to teach you to 
lead a new life % You can find out in this way 
whether you are the sheep of Christ. 

Our Lord tells us, to believe in him as our Sa- 
viour. Do you hear his voice and obey him in 
this % Are you indeed believing in him ; looking to 
him for the saving of yonr souls ? Do you believe 
that the blood of Jesus Christ, and only his blood, 
will wash away your sins % Are you always, day 
after day, trusting in him who died for you, for the 
forgiveness of all your sins ] In this way you may 
try yourselves, and see whether you are the sheep 
of Christ. 

Our Lord tells us to pray to God in his name : to 
pray always and not to faint : to ask, and we shall 
have ; to seek, and we shall find ; to knock, and it 
shall be opened unto us. Do you hear his voice 



SERMON XIX. 



117 



in this 1 Are you praying to God in his name, clay 
after day, night after night, seeking through him 
the pardon, the mercy, the grace, which you want 
every day ? In this way again you may find out 
whether you are the sheep of Christ. 

Our Lord says, " by this shall all men know that 
ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." 
Do you hear his voice in this 1 Are you trying to 
love your neighbor as yourselves ? Are you trying 
to do to others as you would have them do to you? 
Do you for Jesus Christ's sake, love your enemies ? 
Do you bless them that curse you, do good to them 
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully 
use you and persecute you? In this way, again, 
you may try yourselves, and see whether you are 
the sheep of Jesus Christ. And in the same way, 
you may try yourselves, by all the commands of our 
Lord, and see whether you are so hearing his voice 
as to be indeed his sheep. 

Our Lord also declares in this part of the Bible, 
that his sheep follow him. He not only died for 
our sins, to save us from hell, but he also gave us 
an example, that we should walk, as he walked. — 
Now do you bear this mark of the sheep of Jesus, 
that you follow him 1 Are you trying to be meek 
and lowly minded as Jesns was ? Are you follow- 
ing him in his humility, in his patience, in his gen- 
tleness ] Are you helping one another, as he was 
so ready to do good to all that came to him ? Do 
you follow him in his obedience to the will of his 
heavenly Father ] Do you forgive those that injure 
you, as he prayed for those that nailed him to the 
cross ? In this way you may try yourselves, and 
see, whether you are so following Jesus, as to be 
indeed his sheep. And ought you not very seri- 



118 



SERMON XIX. 



ously to look into this, and see whether you belong 
to Jesus or not ] For suppose you are not really 
his : suppose you are not hearing his voice or fol- 
lowing him, in what condition would you then be ? 
Surely in none other, than in the broad road leading 
down to hell. Attend to this matter then with much 
anxiety and earnestness ; and while looking up to 
Jesus dying upon the cross for your sins, while be- 
lieving that God will forgive you your sins for his 
sake, see that you pray very diligently, for the Holy 
Spirit, that you may hear and obey the voice of the 
Good Shepherd, and may always follow him. 

If you do this, how very blessed will you be. — 
Our Lord says that he knows his sheep. He knows 
them to belong to him ; he will be with them, taking 
care of them here : he will confess them at the last 
day before his heavenly Father, and before the holy 
angels. What greater blessing can there be than 
this ? 

Our Lord says, " I give unto my sheep eternal 
life." They love and obey and follow him here; 
they have peace with God through the merits of his 
death, they have his Spirit abiding in them, and he 
will give them hereafter eternal life. What great- 
er blessing can there be, than to be the sheep of 
Jesus ? 

Oar Lord says, " my sheep shall never perish." 
They must indeed leave this world, they must die, 
and their bodies turn to dust, but he will raise them 
up again, and give to them eternal life. What 
greater blessing can there be, than to be the sheep 
of Jesus ] 

Our Lord says, " neither shall any man pluck my 
sheep out of my hand." It matters not who or 
what are against them ; so long as they hear the 



SERMON XIX. 



119 



voice of the Good Shepherd, and follow him, they 
are safe under his protection: he will guide and 
eep them here ; he will place them on his right 
and, in the day of judgment ; he will say to them, 
"Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the king- 
dom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world." Surely there is no blessing equal to this, 
to be the sheep of Jesus. God grant, that we may 
all so hear his voice, and so follow him, that he may 
acknowledge us to be his, and may nourish us up 
unto life everlasting. 



SERMON XX. 



John xiv. 6 — Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the 
truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ was teaching his twelve 
disciples on the night before he was crucified. He 
told them he was going away to his Father, and 
would prepare a place in heaven for them : and he 
said to them, " whither I go ye know, and the way 
ye know/' Thomas, one of the twelve disciples, 
not understanding that our Saviour was indeed go- 
ing back to heaven, " saith unto him, Lord, we 
know not whither thou goest, and how can we 
know the way 1 Jesus saith unto him, I am the 
way, and the truth, and the life : no man cometh 
unto the Father but by me." 

Now these are very important words which we 
should be always paying especial attention to : they 
tell us in a plain manner what we must be doing, 
that our souls may be saved. 

In the beginning of our Church service, we con- 
fess to God that " we have erred and strayed from 
his ways like lost sheep." And in this place we 
hear the voice of Jesus, the good Shepherd, saying, 
" I am the way." So that by following him, we 
turn from the ways of sin, in which we have been 
wandering, and walk in the ways of holiness. 

When wandering in the ways of sin, w 7 e do the 
works of the devil, who is the father of lies : but in 
this place we hear Jesus saying, " I am the truth ;" 
so that by learning of him, and obeying him, we 
Turn from lies to truth ; we are turned from the 
power of Satan unto God. 



SERMON XX. 



121 



We must all of us soon die ; and if we now live 
in sin, we must meet with the second death, the 
eternal pains of hell. But in this place, we hear 
Jesus saying, " I am the life." So that we must 
be raised again by our Saviour at the last day : 
and if we now believe in him, and follow him, and 
obey him, we shall not suffer the second death m 
the fire of hell, but shall live forever in heaven. 

On account of our many sins, we deserve the 
anger of God, both here and forever. But in this 
place, we hear Jesus saying, " I am the way, and 
the truth, and the life," I am the true living way, 
by which all men may come to God : and " no man 
cometh unto the Father but by me." So that if 
we do indeed walk in the way that Jesus directs, 
and receive and obey the truth which Jesus teaches, 
and seek that life which there is in Jesus, and 
which is the gift of God through him, we are now, 
through Jesus, reconciled to the Father, and shall 
also be blessed forever by him. 

These are, indeed, very important words of our 
Saviour Jesus Christ. If you will treasure them 
up in your hearts, and believe as they teach you to 
believe, and live as they teach you to live, and seek 
for all that they teach you to desire, you will, by 
the help of the Holy Spirit, be walking in that way 
which leads to everlasting life. 

Jesus said, " I am the way." When Adam and 
Eve sinned against God, they were driven out of 
Paradise, and the way to God was shut against 
man. But God, whose " mercy endureth forever," 
pitied poor fallen man, and made a way by which 
man might return to him — and that way is Jesus 
Christ. 

Surely, my brethren, God is love, and he " so 



122 



SERMON XX. 



loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
but have everlasting life.*' And how did Jesus 
Christ become the way to heaven ? He became the 
Son of Man ; and in the body which he then took, 
he died, to atone for the sin of Adam ; to atone for 
the sin of all mankind. As John the Baptist, his 
forerunner, said of him : " behold the Lamb of God, 
which taketh away the sin of the world." By his 
dying for our sins and rising up again; by his as* 
cending into heaven, and interceding there for us, 
he is the way, and the only way, by which we can 
be saved. 

You are sinners ; how can you escape the anger 
of God 1 Jesus is the way. Look to him dying for 
your sins ; believe that his blood cleanseth from all 
sin ; be sorry for your sins, and confess them to 
God ; cry to him to spare you, to have mercy upon 
you, to forgive you for his sake, and God's anger 
will be removed — he promises to receive and for- 
give those who so come to him. 

You must soon die : how can you overcome the 
fear of death] how can you escape the second 
death, the pains of hell I Jesus, and Jesus only, is 
the way. Look to him, not only dying for your 
sins, but rising again from the grave ; thus destroy- 
ing the power of death, and hell, and the devil ; 
and if you are, indeed, trusting in him, you will 
have a comfortable hope that the second death 
shall not harm you, but that through Jesus, the way 
to heaven, you shall be happy in God's holy pre- 
sence. 

You are weak creatures : How then can you do 
the will of God? how can you keep from falling 
into sin 1 how can you escape from the snares of 



SERMON XX. 



123 



the devil 1 Jesus, and Jesus only, is the way. He 
said, " God will give the Holy Spirit to them 
that ask." " If ye ask anything in my name, God 
will give it you." " My grace is sufficient for you." 
If then, my brethren, you will pray very diligently 
in the name of Jesus ; if you will look to him with 
believing hearts, and with sincere desire to do his 
will, though very weak in yourselves, you will be- 
come strong in him, and in the power of his might. 
You will have the Holy Spirit abiding in you : you 
will find that you can do all things through Christ 
strengthening you. Thus, in every thing connected 
with the saving of your souls, Jesus, and Jesus 
only, is the way. 

Jesus is also the truth. After Adam and Eve 
sinned against God, the mind of man became dark 
through sin and error; he loved the way of lying 
rather than the w T ay of truth, and became the ser 
vant of the devil, the father of lies. But when 
Jesus came into the world, he was the light of the 
world : as the sun rising in the morning, drives 
away the darkness of night, so does Jesus drive 
away, from all who receive him, the darkness of 
error and sin, and shew them the light of truth. — 
When he was in the world, he taught the way of 
truth ; he made known to the world the true God, 
and himself the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit of 
truth, who guides God's faithful people into the 
ways of peace and truth. And in his holy Bible, 
we can all learn " the truth as it is in Jesus." — 
There, we learn true knowledge, true wisdom, 
even that blessed truth by which we can live here 
as true followers of Jesus Christ, and by which we 
can be fitted to be partakers of the inheritance of 
the Saints in light. 



124 



Sermon xx. 



Do you then want to know the truth, and to pos- 
sess the truth ] you must come to Jesus, who is the 
truth. Be always glad to hear his word read to 
you, and pray diligently to God for the gift of the 
Holy Spirit, that you may love the truth, and keep 
the truth, and walk in the truth ; you will then, by 
the grace of God, be increasing in true knowledge 
and true holiness, living to the glory of our God 
and Saviour, and enjoying a well grounded hope of 
eternal life. 

Jesus is the life. When Adam sinned, God said 
to him, "dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt 
return. " But the gospel brings us this blessed 
news. " As in Adam all die, even so in Christ 
shall all be made alive." 

Jesus is the life : he died for our sins, and rose 
up again to die no more. And if we believe in 
him who so died for us ; if we turn from the death 
of sin to the life of righteousness, we shall through 
him, not die eternally, but live. 

Jesus is the life : we must, indeed, leave this 
world : our souls must be separated from the body, 
and our bodies be committed to the grave; but at * 
the etui of the world, our Lord shall come again 
and raise up all the dead; when to those who have 
loved him, and have believed in him as their 
Saviour, and have obeyed him, he shall say, " come 
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre- 
sared for you from the foundation of the world. " 

Do you desire this life, this eternal life, which 
there is in Christ Jesus our Lord ] Surely you 
would all desire life eternal in heaven, rather than 
never ending torment in hell. But are you seeking 
this life ] are you living for heaven % Oh, my 
brethren, take heed how you pass your few days 



SERMON XX, 



125 



that you spend here. On the manner in which 
you live now, depends your condition for ever and 
ever. If you do not attend to religion ; if you live 
in darkness, in sin, in the way of lying, doing the 
works of the devil, you must suffer for ever the 
pains of hell. And could you endure those ever- 
lasting burnings ] If not, flee at once from the 
wrath to come ; escape, while you have time, from 
the punishment of the wicked. Hear, with open 
ears and obedient hearts, these words of Jesus, " I 
am the way, and the truth, and the life : no man 
cometh unto the Father but by me," Walk in this 
way which Jesus points out to you : learn and obey 
this truth which Jesus teaches : seek this life which 
Jesus offers; and the Father, w T ho sent his Son to 
be the Saviour of the world, will put his Spirit 
within you, and bless you both now and forever. 
May you all know, by happy experience, that the 
follower of Jesus can alone be called blessed. 



SERMON XXL 



John xv. 4.- — >\bide in me, and I in you. As the branch can- 
not bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine : no more can 
ye, except ye abide in me. 

How beautifully simple are these words of our 
Saviour ! And how plainly do they teach us, that 
if we would have spiritual life in our souls, we must 
be united to Jesus Christ the Saviour of sinners. 
In this parable of the vine, our Lord shews the 
close union which there is between him and his 
Church, and how every living member of his 
Church receives all his spiritual strength and nou- 
rishment from him. He says, " I am the true vine, 
and my Father is the husbandman." Jesus calls 
himself " the true vine." In a vine there are three 
parts ; first the root, then the stock or stem arising 
from the root, and lastly the branches which grow 
upon the stock or stem. And when our Lord says, ' 
" I am true vine," he speaks of himself, and the 
Church, which depends altogether upon him. — 
Jesus is like the root and stock of the vine ; and the 
Church is like the branches : for as the root and 
stock of the vine support the branches and keep 
them alive; so does Jesus Christ support his Church 
and give spiritual life to each member of his Church. 

" My Father," he says, " is the husbandman." — 
As a vine must first be planted in good ground, 
x d must afterwards receive much care and atten- 
that it may produce good grapes ; so it is with 
and his Church, which is the spiritual vine. 



\ 



SERMON XXI. 



127 



' l My Father/' says Jesus, 44 is the husbandman." 
It is God the Father who planted this true and spi- 
ritual vine in this world ; who has protected it from 
the beginning until now : who waters it continually 
with the dew of his blessing; who prunes it with 
afflictions ; who watches over each member of it 
with the tenderest care. For he sent his own dear 
Son into the world to die for sin : Jesus Christ, the 
Son of God, became man, and died for the sins of 
men upon the cross : and all who repent of their 
sins, and believe in him who so died, and are bap- 
tized, are made members of his Church, and chil- 
dren of God : they have the Holy Spirit given to 
them, and the promise of eternal life in the next 
world. How can we sufficiently thank our heavenly 
Father for his mercy and goodness towards us ? — 
" In this was manifested the love of God toward us, 
because that God sent his only begotten Son into 
the world, that we might live through him." Try 
and think often, my brethren, of the greatness of 
the love of God to us miserable sinners, in redeem- 
ing us with the precious blood of Christ, and thus 
bringing as near to himself. And oh be careful to 
shew your thankfulness and your love by a cheer- 
ful obedience to him. 

Our Saviour next says, " every branch in me that 
beareth not fruit, he taketh away." If there is a 
branch in a vine which bears no fruit, what is usu- 
ally done with it 1 It is cut off, and thrown away, 
or burned, as a useless branch. So also it is in the 
spiritual vine, the Church : if there is a member, 
who will not yield the fruit of a good life, the time 
shall come, when the Lord shall take him away, 
and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 
Remember this, I pray you. Are you like fruitful 

K 



128 



SERMON XXI. 



branches, or like barren branches % Are you seek- 
ing in prayer the help of the Holy Spirit, that you 
may shake off your sins, and become holy, as God 
is holy : or are you still dead in trespasses and 
sins ? Oh take heed to your ways, and as long as 
God, in his goodness, permits you to live, let your 
repentance for your sins, become deeper ; let your 
faith in Jesus become stronger; let your prayers 
lor the Holy Ghost become more frequent and 
earnest ; let your endeavors to keep God's com- 
mandments become a constant habit, lest God cut 
you off in anger, finding you only like a useless 
branch. 

Our Saviour goes on to say, " and every branch 
that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring 
forth more fruit." A vine requires a great deal of 
pruning every year; not only must the useless and 
barren branches be cut away, but the good branches 
must also be pruned, and trained in a proper direc- 
tion, or they would soon become good for nothing. 
God does the same in his spiritual vine, the Church, 
Every member of the Church, who is bearing the 
fruit of a good life, he purgeth ; he visits with dif- 
ferent kinds of affliction. And why is this ? That 
he may bring forth more fruit. That he may serve 
God better in this world, and may be more fit to be 
received into heaven. We all of us need a great 
deal of correction; and the Lord, in mercy to our 
souls, chastises us in various ways. Our sins have 
taken such hold upon us, that affliction is necessary 
to make us use the proper means of getting rid of 
them. We are so little inclined to serve God, that 
affliction is necessary to draw us near to him. — 
Whenever, therefore, the sorrows of this life are 
pressing you sore, think of this saying of our 



SERMON XXI. 



129 



Saviour, " every branch which beareth fruit, he 
purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." If 
you are indeed followers of Jesus, it will, at such 
times, comfort you to think that a Father's hand 
is upon you, chastising you ; in love chastising you 
to make you partakers of his holiness. And re- 
membering this, you will pray to him for his grace 
that his chastisement may have a good effect upon 
you, in making you more sorry for your sins, and 
more obedient to his holy will. 

I will now go on to the words which I read to 
you at the beginning. " Abide in me, and I in you. 
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it 
abide in the vine : no more can ye, except ye abide 
in me," " Abide in me," says our Lord, "and I 
in you." Thus must it always be. Jesus, Jesus 
Christ crucified for your sins, must be all in all to 
you, if you would enjoy a sure hope of being saved. 
Abide in him by faith, and he will be in you, teach- 
ing you to live to his glory, and preparing you for 
heaven. As each day runs on, keep your eye fixed 
upon Jesus, who died for your sins, and is now at 
the right hand of God, interceding for you. While 
confessing your sins to God, and repenting of them, 
look to Jesus, believing that his blood cleanseth 
from all sin. While praying to God, look to Jesus 
our "Advocate with the Father," believing, that 
for his sake you shall obtain the mercy and grace 
which you need. In all that you do, look to Jesus. 
While sitting in the house, and when walking by 
the way, in lying down and in rising up ; while 
doing your daily work, look to Jesus : look to him 
for his power to protect you, for his grace to guide 
you. Thus abide in him, and he will abide in you : 
your sins, through him, shall be blotted out; your 



130 



SERMON XXL 



prayers, through him, shall be heard ; you shall 
have his Spirit dwelling in you ; you shall be under 
his special care in this world, and shall be made 
" meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the 
saints in light." Oh how great a blessing it is to 
be thus closely united to our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ. Let us desire this, my brethren, 
more than any thing ; let us pray for it ; especially 
let us live as they ought to do, who are seeking 
heaven through him. 

Can any one do what is right in the sight of God, 
unless he abide in Jesus Christ % It is impossible. 
Hear what he says. " As the branch cannot bear 
fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine ; no more 
can ye, except ye abide in me," This is setting 
the matter before us in the plainest way. If you 
cut off a branch from the vine, it must wither and 
die. And the same is true with regard to the 
branch in the spiritual vine. Unless you, as 
branches of the spiritual vine, are abiding in Jesus, 
receiving from him spiritual strength, you can have 
neither the will, nor the power, to do works pleas- 
ing to God. Unless you have the Holy Spirit 
helping you, you cannot repent truly of your sins ; 
you cannot live a new life of obedience to God, you 
cannot pray or believe, or do any thing as you 
ought to do. You are entirely in the condition of 
a branch cut off from the vine : dead in trespasses 
and sins. Oh what condition can be so sad as this ! 
From such a dead state, good Lord deliver us all. 

You must see, my brethren, how the saving of 
your souls depends upon your being joined to our 
Saviour Jesus Christ by a lively faith, that you may 
be always receiving from him the grace which you 
want. Learn, then, often to offer up such prayers 



SERMON XXI. 



131 



as these. "Lord increase our faith." "QGod, 
make clean our hearts within us, and take not thy 
Holy Spirit from us." 

Our Lord continues to speak of this necessary 
union between us and him. He thus, in mercy to 
us, gives us " line upon line, and precept upon 
precept :" for, as the Bible teaches us in another 
place, there is salvation only in Jesus Christ: "for 
there is none other name under heaven, given 
among men, whereby we must be saved." He, 
therefore, goes on to say, " 1 am the vine, ye are 
the branches : he that abideth in me, and I in him, 
the same bringeth forth much fruit ; for without me 
ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he 
is cast forth as a branch, and is withered ; and men 
gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they 
are burned." He thus continues teaching the same 
great truth, that we have spiritual life in our souls, 
only by being joined to him, as a branch is joined 
to the vine. And the blessed effect of this union 
must be, " that we bring forth much fruit." 

You, my brethren, profess to belong to him : — 
you have been baptized in his name, and have thus 
been " grafted into the body of his Church." But 
as in any vine, there may be both living and dead 
branches ; as there may be some branches bearing 
fruit, others never bearing any fruit : so it is in the 
Church of Christ. Some members of his Church 
are always seeking, in the ways appointed by him, 
more grace, and are glorifying him by their godly 
lives. Other members of his Church, to their 
shame be it spoken, do not seek through him, as 
they ought to do, the grace which they need, and 
dishonor him by their ungodly lives. 

What then, let me ask, are all of you doing? If 



132 



SERMON XXI. 



you are living branches of the spiritual vine, you 
are " bringing forth much fruit." If you are living 
members of Christ's Church, you are glorifying 
your Saviour by " bringing forth much fruit." But 
is it indeed so] Is the fruit of the Spirit seen in 
your lives ? have you love 1 love to God and love 
to man ? have you joy and peace in believing I — 
Joy, because God sent his Son to die for you ; and 
peace, because you believe that God will have 
mercy on you, and forgive you for Christ's sake ? 
Are you long suffering, and gentle, and kind, in 
your dealings with one another ] Have you faith, 
so as steadfastly to believe all the great and precious 
promises of the gospel of Christ? Are you aiming 
at being meek like our Saviour ? And are you tem- 
perate in all things, keeping under your bodies, 
and bringing them into subjection ? This, as the 
Bible tells us, is the fruit of the Spirit. Let it be 
then your constant prayer, that you may " bring 
forth this good fruit," and may thus shew that you 
are abiding in Christ. 

How sad will be the eternal condition of those 
who will not live as true followers of Jesus Christ ! 
He says, " if a man abide not in me, he is cast forth 
as a branch, and is withered, and men gather them 
and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." 

But how full of joy and comfort is the state of 
those, who are in truth and sincerity, looking to 
Jesus, and are following him. He says, " if ye 
abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall 
ask what ye will, and it shall he done unto you." 
Great and glorious promise, indeed ! May we all 
be partakers of it, Lord Jesus. 



SERMON XXSL 



Luke x. 38, 39. — Now it came to pass, as they went, that he" 
entered into a certain village : and a certain woman, named 
Martha, received him into her house And she had a sister* 
called M ary, which a]so sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 

We are told in this part of the gospel of St. Luke« 
that as our Lord Jesus Christ was going from place 
to place along with his twelve disciples, he came to 
a certain village. The name of this village was 
Bethany, and it was not far from Jerusalem — 
When they had entered into this village, a certain 
woman, named Martha, received Jesus into her 
house. This woman had a sister, called Mary, and 
also a brother, named Lazarus, about whom I hope 
to speak to you at another time. 

Now we read in another place in the Bible, that 
" Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.'* 
What a great honor and blessing did this family 
enjoy ! It is written of them that Jesus loved them. 
And this could not have been, unless they had been 
obedient to the word of Jesus, walking in the way 
of righteousness which he taught them. If you, 
my brethren, would enjoy this chief blessing, to 
have it said of you, that Jesus loves you : while you 
look up to him as your Saviour, see that you obey 
him as your Lord and Master. He himself says, 
" he that hath my commandments and keepeth 
them, he it is that loveth me ; and I will love him, 
and will manifest myself to him." 



134 



SERMON XXU. 



When our Lord and his disciples came to Betha- 
ny where this family lived, Martha received them 
into her house. We may very well suppose that 
she, as well as Mary and Lazarus, would be glad 
indeed to open their doors to our Saviour, that they 
might pay him all the respect that they could, and 
attend to all his wants; and, what is of more im- 
portance, that they might hear from him the words 
of eternal life. 

These sisters, Martha and Mary, appear to have 
been very different in their characters. Mary is 
spoken of first, as sitting at Jesus' feet and hearing 
his word : " She sat at Jesus' feet and heard his 
word." Our Lord, it would seem from this, be^an 
to teach those that were in the house, as soon as he 
came in. This work of love he was always en- 
gaged in. He came into the world to save sinners, 
and he never lost an opportunity of teaching sin- 
ners how their souls might be saved. Whilst he 
was speaking in the house of Martha, " the words 
of eternal life," Mary " sat at his feet and heard his 
word." This shews us that Mary was of a meek, 
and lowly, and humble spirit ; that she was willing 
to be taught; and gladly improved this opportunity 
of hearing the word of Jesus : she would not lose 
so good an opportunity; she might never again be 
so much favored : she therefore " sat at Jesus' feet 
and heard his word." 

You see how meek, and lowly, and humble Mary 
was. You must be of the same spirit, if you would 
have Jesus to love you. The whole Bible teaches 
yon, that you must be " clothed with humility :" 
the life of our Saviour while upon earth teaches you 
to be very lowly minded and humble : all our Sa- 
viour's teaching shews that you must not have any 



SERMON XXII. 



135 



high or proud notions about yourselves ; that you 
must not think of yourselves as greater or better 
than others; that you must not, in the pride of your 
hearts, be lifting up yourselves one above another: 
his word is " whosoever will be chief among you, 
let him be your servant : even as the Son of Man 
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and 
to give his life a ransom for many." 

You see also, in the conduct of Mary, how willing 
she was to be taught : " she sat at Jesus' feet and 
heard his word." This again is an example which 
you must be ready to follow, if you would have 
Jesus to love you. In the holy Bible we Siave the 
word of Jesus. Whenever you come to Church, 
you have the word of Jesus read to you. But do 
you always, with the willing mind of Mary, sit and 
hear his word ] Do you come desiring to know all 
the will of God % Do you come, wishing to learn 
all about our dear Saviour] how he came down 
from heaven % how he led a life of sorrow here in 
the nature of man 1 how he was always going about 
doing good ; healing the sick and preaching his 
gospel to poor sinners ? how he suffered both in 
body and soul, and died upon the cross for the sins 
of men ] how 7 he rose from the dead and ascended 
into heaven ] how he sitteth at the right hand of 
God, and ever liveth making intercession for us % 
Do you come wishing to know the comfort of the 
Holy Ghost, that most precious gift, which was 
bought for us with our Saviour's blood, and which 
he promised should be given to all who ask in his 
name? Do you come to Church as to the house 
of God, with reverence and godly fear, being anx- 
ious to pray to him in spirit and in truth ] With 
this kind of mind you ought always to come here, 



136 



SERMON XXII. 



to pray to our reconciled Father, and to hear the 
word of Jesus. But do all persons so come ] No: 
some do not care about their souls or religion, and 
when they go away, the devil takes out of their 
careless hearts all that they have heard ; some have 
hard and stony hearts, hearts that are made hard 
by the love of sin, and by resisting God's Holy 
Spirit ; and if the word which they hear does make 
some little impression upon them, instead of really 
repenting of their sins, and praying for a new heart 
and for more grace, they soon grow tired of the 
way of holiness, and go on living again according 
to the bad desires of their hard and obstinate hearts : 
others again are so fond of the things of this world, 
that there is no room in their hearts for the words 
of eternal life. But how do you hear the word of 
Jesus ] Oh pray to God to send you his Holy Spi- 
rit, that your ears may always be open, and your 
hearts ready to receive the word of Jesus, and that 
you may be as willing to be taught as Mary was. 
Pray to him to give you the spirit of little children, 
that you may hear with meekness that word of 
Jesus, which is able to save your souls, and that you 
may always be ready to say as young Samuel did, 
" speak Lord for thy servant heareth." Above all, 
pray to God to give you obedient hearts, so that 
when you know what his will is, you may have 
grace to do it. Our Saviour says, " blessed are 
they that hear the word of God, and do it." 

You see again, in the conduct of Mary, how de- 
sirous she was to hear. She would not lose so 
good an opportunity. As soon as our Lord came 
into the house, what did she do ] She sat at his 
feet, and there she continued sitting, hearing his 
word. Have you all been as careful not to let slip 



SERMON XXII. 



13? 



any opportunity of hearing the word of God 1 I 
am afraid you have carelessly and sinfully lost many 
opportunities of worshipping God along with his 
people, and hearing his word. Consider this I 
pray you, and learn to follow this good example of 
Mary. Not one of you will be able to say, in the 
day of judgment, I had no way of hearing and learn- 
ing about my God and Saviour. No : you have 
reason now to thank God that you can, by hearing 
his word, become wise unto salvation. Do not any 
of you, 1 beseech you, abuse the goodness and mer- 
cies of God, but rather let the goodness of God to 
you, make you seek him more, and serve him better. 
Pray to him especially for the gift of his Holy Spi- 
rit, that you may be humble and lowly minded like 
Mary ; that like her you may seize upon every 
opportunity of hearing his word ; so that walking 
humbly and obediently before God in this world, 
you may enjoy the blessed hope of everlasting life, 
which he has given us in his Son our Saviour Jesus 
Christ. 



SERMON XXIIL 



Luke x, 4L — " And .lesus answered and said unto her, 
Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things : 
but one thing is needful. 

I Preached to you from this passage of scrip- 
ture the last time we met together. 1 spoke of the 
great blessing which Martha and Mary and their 
brother Lazarus enjoyed, as it is said of them that 
Jesus loved them; and I shewed you how you too 
may be disciples whom Jesus loves, namely, by 
doing the things which he commands you. I spoke 
to you also of the conduct of Mary, how she sat at 
the feet of Jesus, and heard his word. And I told 
you to be humble and lowly minded like Mary, to 
be as willing as she was to be taught, and after her 
example, to seize every opportunity of hearing the 
word of God. 

While Mary was thus engaged sitting at the feet 
of Jesus, and hearing his word, what was Martha 
doing ] We are told, " but Martha was cumbered 
about much serving." Although she loved our 
Lord, and believed in him as " the Christ, the Son 
of God," yet, at this time, she was thinking only of 
the manner in which she should entertain him. — 
She was taking a great deal of trouble in providing 
a large supper; and while so busy about this, she 
was cumbered ; her mind was troubled and dis- 
tressed by her cares. In what a very different 
condition she was from her sister Mary. Mary was 
quietly sitting at the feet of Jesus ; her mind was 



SERMON 5XITI. 



139 



not at all disturbed by cares, for she was intently 
hearing the gracious words w T hich came from our 
Saviour's mouth. Martha's mind however, was 
full of cares and troubles and anxieties, while she 
was hurrying about, this way and that way, in 
getting ready a large feast for our Lord. 

Now we must say, that it w T as Martha's duty to 
make sufficient preparations for the comfort and 
w T ants of her guests: and in giving herself so much 
trouble in making these preparations, she shewed 
that she wanted to do all that she could for Jesus, 
who had done her so much honor in coming into 
her house. But she gave herself too much trouble 
about it : she was worrying and distressing herself 
with these cares : and what is more, she was losing 
this good opportunity of hearing the w T ord of Jesus. 
Jesus the Saviour of the world, who spake the 
words of eternal life, had come into her house, and 
she allowed herself to be disturbed with the cares 
of living, when she might have listened to him who 
is the bread of life; to whom if we come, we shall 
never hunger; in whom if we believe, w T e shall 
never thirst. 

This is a mistake that a great many people make. 
Too many follow the example of Martha, instead 
of doing as Mary did. At those times when they 
should be hearing the word of Jesus, and attending 
to the good of their souls, they are fretting them- 
selves with worldly cares, and attending only to 
things for the body. The Lord God, my brethren, 
has given us a time for all things. He has given 
us time to attend to the wants of the body ; and has 
given us time to attend to the w r ants of the soul. — 
We owe it to God to do our duty in that state of 
iife to which it has pleased him to call us ; and we 



140 



SERMON XXIII. 



owe it also to him to usel all the means which he 
has given us, and to seize every opportunity which 
he gives us, to hear his words, to worship him, and 
to become fitted through Jesus Christ, to stand 
before him hereafter. What you have to attend to 
is this : to do every thing at its proper time, and 
with a right spirit. When it is time to attend to 
your worldly duties, go about them readily and 
cheerfully ; doing whatever you have to do, as to 
the Lord, and not to men ; as a duty you owe to 
God, whose creatures you are, and to whom you 
must give account in the great day. And when 
the time comes for worshipping God : when you 
have an opportunity to hear his word, and to pray 
to him, then drive away from your hearts all worldly 
cares and thoughts ; thank God for his goodness in 
giving you to know him and his Son Jesus Christ ; 
listen with close attention to his word ; and pray 
from your hearts that the Holy Spirit may enlight- 
en your minds, and may guide you into all truth. 

But let us go on with this account of Martha and 
Mary. Martha not only lost this good opportunity 
of hearing Jesus speak, but she seems to have lost 
her temper too. She " was cumbered about much 
serving, and came to Jesus, and said, Lord, dost 
thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve 
alone % bid her therefore, that she help rae." Her 
interrupting our Lord in his discourse, and finding 
fault with her sister in the way that she did, shew- 
ed that the cares of serving were too much disturb- 
ing her mind. But see with what mildness and 
gentleness our Lord spoke to her. " Jesus answer- 
ed and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou ait 
careful and troubled about many things : but one 



SERMON XXfll. 



141 



thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good 
part which shall not be taken away from her." 

Thus did our Saviour, in a hurried manner, re- 
prove Martha for giving all her time and attention 
to the cares of her house, when she might have 
been hearing his word. He told her that she was 
troubled about many things ; but that one thing 
was needful. And what is that one thing? It is 
religion ; it is the care of the soul. Martha was 
allowing the many things of her household cares 
to draw away her mind from this one thing, at the 
time when Jesus was teaching the way of salvation 
in her house. And he approved of Mary's con- 
duct, instead of blaming her, as Martha would 
have had him do. " Mary hath chosen that good 
part, which shall not be taken away from her." 

Now, my brethren, all people are in danger of 
being too careful and too much troubled about the 
many things of this world, and of neglecting the 
one thing needful. This is a great error, which is 
found amongst people in every condition of life. — 
It is a fault belonging not only to rich people, but 
to poor people too. It is a sin committed not by 
masters only, but by servants too. And you, and 
I, and all people, have need of continued prayer 
to God, that the love of this present evil world may 
by his grace, be taken out of our hearts; and that 
while, as his servants, we are faithfully discharging 
our wordly duties, we may also attend to the saving 
of our never-dying souls, which is the one thing 
needful. 

"One thing is needful." Your bodies, which 
some of you perhaps think too much about, and 
are too fond of indulging, will in a short time be 
put into the grave, and turn again to dust; but 



SERMON XXIII. 



your souls never can die. Should it not then be 
your great concern, so to spend your few days 
here, that your souls may, through Christ, be 
saved from the pains of hell, and be forever happy 
in heaven. 

"One thing is needful :" but some of you are 
very careful and much troubled about earthly 
things ; can you carry these earthly things with 
you when you die ? Will your cares and trou- 
bles about them do you any good in the next 
world ? Surely not. Should you not then, while 
doing faithfully all your worldly duties, be diligent- 
ly attending to this one thing needful ] laying up 
for yourselves treasure in heaven 1 Setting your 
affections on things above, where Christ sitteth at 
the right hand of God? 

" One thing is needful and can you not all 
attend to this one thing ] God has put you in the 
way of doing so. Through the goodness and mer- 
cy of God, you can become wise unto salvation. — 
You are taught how to believe in Jesus Christ, the 
only Saviour of sinners : you are taught how to 
pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit, that you may 
repent of your sins, and may walk in the way of 
God's commandments. " One thing is needful : 
are you all attending to this one thing ] Oh do as 
Mary did, and choose that good part which shall 
never he taken away from you. Choose God for 
your portion ; learn to seek and to serve him as 
Jesus Christ teaches us in his gospel ; and you will 
learn how to be contented, and happy, and cheer- 
ful in this world, while you are getting ready for 
eternal happiness in the next. Jesus our Master 
and only Saviour says, " my sheep hear my voice, 
and I know them, and they follow me ; and I give 



SEKMON XXIH. 



143 



unto them eternal life ; and they shall never per- 
ish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my 
hand." Here is happiness indeed, happiness now 
and forever, if we attend to the one thing needful, 
and follow Jesus in a life of faith and obedience 
to him. 



SERMON XXIV. 



John xi. 3, 4, — His sisters sent unto him, saying; Lord, be* 
hold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he 
said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that 
the Son of God might be glorified thereby. 

I have before spoken to you about M art ha, and 
her sister Mary » how Maitha received our Lord at 
one time into her house, when he began to preach 
his gospel; and how Mary sat at his feet to heai 
his word. How also Martha was taking too much 
I trouble in preparing a feast; when our Lord told 
her, that she was careful and troubled about many 
things ; but that there was one thing needful, name- 
ly, the care of her soul ; and how, he added, that 
Mary by sitting at his feet, and hearing his word, 
had chosen the good part which should not be taken 
away from her. 

In this eleventh chapter of the gospel of St. 
John, we find the account of the sickness of the 
brother of these sisters. " A certain man was sick 
named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and 
her sister Martha. It was that Mary which anoint- 
ed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with 
her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick." Mary 
anointed our Lord with ointment, sometime after 
this sickness of Lazarus, about which we are spea- 
king : but when St. John wrote his gospel, it was 
every where known that she was the person, who 
had in this way shown how much she loved our 
Saviour* 



SERMON XXIV. 



145 



When Lazarus was taken sick, his sisters sent 
to Jesus, "saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou 
lovest is sick." Jesus, we observe, loved Lazarus. 
Is it then wonderful that Lazarus should be sick ? 
Is it strange that any person, who is loved by our 
Lord, should endure sickness, or pain, or sorrow, 
of any kind % No : this is what the whole Bible 
teaches. We read in one place, " whom the Lord 
loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son 
whom he receiveth." And in another place, " as 
many as I love, I rebuke, and chasten.'' The Bible 
also tells us the reason of this, which is, that the 
children of God may be taught to repent more of 
their sins, and to be more submissive and obedient 
to God ; that they may learn to pray more for 
divine grace, and to put greater trust in their 
Saviour ; that they may think less about this world, 
and may be more diligent in getting ready for 
heaven. For these good reasons God chastises his 
people ; and whenever you become sick, or are 
visited with sorrows, you should try and look up to 
God as chastizing you for your sins, and should 
pray much to him for his Spirit, that you may be 
patient like our Saviour, when he suffered for our 
sins, that you may improve by his chastening, and 
grow more like him in holiness. We cannot, then, 
be surprised at this message of Martha and Mary 
to Jesus. " Lord, he whom thou lovest is sick." 

" When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness 
is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the 
Son of God might be glorified thereby." " This 
sickness is not unto death," said Jesus. Lazarus, 
we know, did not die at this time ; but four days 
after, our Lord raised him up from the grave. 
Therefore, when he said, " this sickness is not unto 



146 



SERMON XXIV. 



death," he meant, Lazarus shall not continue dead. 
I will permit him to die and he buried, and then I 
will raise him up again ; and by so doing, God 
will receive glory, and I, the Son of God, shall be 
glorified too. 

Our Saviour, my brethren, was going to do this 
great miracle, that men might believe in him, the 
Son of God, and that they might give glory and 
praise to God on account of it. This example of 
Jesus, as well as a great deal in the Bible, teaches 
us, that we must be always trying to live to the 
glory and praise of God: that we must not only 
praise God with our mouth, but be very obedient 
to him in every thing, so that others seeing the good 
life that we are leading, may praise God for it, and 
be brought to live to his glory themselves. If 
Christians are not doing this ; if they do not deny 
themselves, and serve him who bought them with 
his blood, they are bringing reproach upon that 
holy name by which they are called; and this 
surely is a grievous sin. 

We are next told that " Jesus loved Martha, and 
her sister, and Lazarus/' I have before spoken to 
you about the very happy condition of this family : 
Jesus loved them. And, as I then asked, is not 
Jesus ready to love you too ] Most assuredly he 
is : he is always ready to love those who put their 
trust in him and obey him. He says in one place, 
" if any man love me, he will keep my words ; and 
my Father will love him, and we will come unto 
him, and make our abode with him." So great is 
the happiness of the true follower of Christ. 

When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, " he 
abode two days still in the same place where he 
was." As he intended working this great miracle? 



SERMON XXIV. 



147 



he staid where he was until after Lazarus was bu- 
ried. He then said, " let us go into Judea again." 
The twelve disciples, remembering how badly the 
Jews had treated him, said, " Master, the Jews of 
late sought to stone thee, and goest thou thither 
again 1 Jesus answered, are there not twelve hours 
in the day ? If any man walk in the day, he stum- 
bleth not, because he seeth the light of this world : 
but if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, be- 
cause there is no light in him." By which he 
meant, that as people walking in the day time, can 
easily see the path, and do not stumble, but stum- 
ble only at night, so he would be quite safe from 
the malice of the Jews, until the time came when 
he was to be taken and crucified. 

After this, he said to his disciples, " our friend 
Lazarus sleepeth : but I go that I may awake him 
out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he 
sleep he shall do well. Howbeit, Jesus spake of 
his death : but they thought that he had spoken of 
taking of rest in sleep." Our Saviour was, at this 
time, a long way off from Bethany, but in his divine 
nature, he was every where ; and he knew that 
Lazarus was dead — but he spoke of him as asleep : 
" Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." It is very com- 
mon in the Bible to speak of death as a sleep. St. 
Paul, speaking of the Christians who had died, 
says, " they sleep in Jesus." They lie down in 
the grave, as it were, asleep ; and shall sleep there 
until the trumpet wake them at the day of judg- 
ment ; then Jesus, in whom they trusted, in whom 
they fell asleep in death, shall raise them up, to be 
blessed forever with him. Thus, by speaking of 
death as a sleep, we shew that we believe in the 
resurrection of the dead ; and the only way to be 



148 



SERMON XXIV. 



saved from the fear of death, and to lie down in the 
grave in peace, is, to be giving up your sins, (for the 
wages of sin is death.) and to be obedient followers 
of that precious Saviour, who died that you might 
live. You may then, through his grace, meet your 
death in peace, supported by faith in him " who 
loved us and gave himself for us." You may then 
say, in the hour of death, " thanks be to God, which 
giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ :" and may lie down in the grave, enjoying 
the comfortable hope, that on the morning of the 
resurrection you shall awake to glory and everlast- 
ing peace. 

" Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarns is 
dead, and I am glad, for your sakes, that I was not 
there, to the intent ye may believe : nevertheless, 
let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is 
called Didymus, unto his fellow-disciples, let us 
also go, that we may die with him." Our Lord, 
seeing that his disciples thought oniy of the taking 
of rest in sleep, told them plainly, u Lazarus is 
dead." And he then told them why he had not 
gone sooner to this family which he loved. The 
reason was, that they might see his power over the 
grave itself, and might believe more in him. And 
when you, my brethren, have these things read to 
you out of the Bible, you should pray to God to 
help you by his grace, that you may so hear them, 
as to be made better by them. 

This account of the raising up of Lazarus, I hope 
to go on with at another time. While hearing it, 
remember that you too must die, and that the same 
Jesus who called Lazarus out of his grave, shall, at 
the day of judgment, raise up your dead bodies. 
What then should you now be doing % Surely you 



SERMON XXIVc 



149 



should now be attending to the " one thing need- 
ful/' the saving of your souls. Surely you should 
now be leading such a life as will be fitting you for 
complete happiness after the day of judgment. — - 
Jesus, who will then be your Judge, is your 
Saviour : he died upon the cross that you might 
live : he invites all to come to him : to believe in 
him that their sins may be forgiven : to learn of 
him : to be obedient to him : to pray in his name 
for the gift of the Holy Spirit ; and he promises to 
receive all who truly turn to him; to blot out their 
sins, and to give them all the grace they need. Oh 
seek, and lean upon, and follow this precious 
Saviour now, and in the day of judgment you will 
find him to be your friend. " He shall set the 
righteous on his right hand, and shall say unto 
them, come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of 
the world. " 



SERMON XXV. 



John xi 25,26, 27.— -Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrec- 
tion and the life: he that believeth in me, though h? were dead, 
yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall 
never die Believest thou this? She saith unto him ; yea, Lord; 
I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should 
come into the world. 

The last time that we assembled together, I 
spoke to you about the sickness of Lazarus. At 
the time of his sickness, our Lord was a long way 
off from Bethany, the town where Martha and 
Mary and Lazarus lived ; and he did not go at 
once to this family which he loved, because he 
knew, that by permitting Lazarus to die, and by 
raising him up from his grave, so great a miracle 
would make the people give glory to God, and be- 
lieve in him the Saviour of sinners. 

After our Lord had told his disciples that Laza- 
rus was dead, they set off to go to Bethany : and 
when they came, they found that he had lain in the 
grave four days already. You must remember 
that when he was taken sick, his sisters sent to 
Jesus, saying " he whom thou lovest is sick." They 
sent no doubt in the hope that our Lord would heal 
his sickness : but they saw their brother die, and 
had laid his body in the grave : four days had pass- 
ed away ; and they were filled with sorrow on ac- 
count of the death of their brother. 

" Now Bethany was nigh to Jerusalem, about 
fifteen furlongs off;" that is, about two miles. "And 



SERMON XXV. 



151 



many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to 

comfort them concerning their brother." While 

these sisters were mourning on account of their 

loss, many of their friends in Jerusalem went down 

to see them, and to try and comfort them in their 

affliction. And all Christians should have a heart 

which can feel for other people. We are taught 

to rejoice with those that do rejoice, and to weep 

with those that weep. And if any of your friends 

get sick, or meet with afflictions of any kind, you 

should be ready to go to see them, and help them ; 

to talk kindly to them ; to speak of God chastizing 

those whom he loves, in order to make them love 

and serve him better ; to speak of the love of Christ 

in coming down from heaven to save such poor 

sinners as we are, and of his now "being touched 

with the feeling of our infirmities," and interceding 
e> ..... 1=3 

for us in heaven. Acting in this christian way will 
bring the blessing of God upon your own souls : 
and when you shall be in affliction yourselves, you 
will be much comforted by kind friends coming in, 
sharing your sorrows with you, and leading you to 
forget them, while you think and speak of the love 
of Christ, who became a man of sorrows for us.— 
Oh if there was more brotherly love among Chris- 
tians, they would bear each others burdens, and 
thus take off from each other much of the weight 

o 

of their sorrows. 

" Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus 
was coming, went and met him : but Mary sat still 
in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, 
if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 
But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt 
ask of God, God will give it thee." You see how 
Martha believed in the divine power of our Lord i 



162 



SERMON XXV. 



" if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.* 5 
She knew that by a word or a touch he could have 
made him well. His being there however, was 
not necessary for this ; by his divine power, he 
could have restored him to health, even when at a 
distance from him. 

We see again Martha's faith, that is, her belief 
in the power of Jesus, by her saying. " I know 
that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, 
God will give it thee." As if she had said, I know 
that if thou pleasest, my brother can be raised up 
again. Do you, my brethren, know that Jesus is 
both able and willing to save you ? You should 
not only be able to say this with your lips, but the 
feeling should be in your hearts, making you look 
up to Jesus always as the Saviour of your souls, 
bringing you to him daily that your sins may be 
forgiven, and that you may, through his grace, be 
obedient to him in all things. 

Jesus said to Martha, " thy brother shall rise 
again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he 
shall rise again, in the resurrection, at the last day. 
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the 
life : he that believeth in me, though he were dead, 
yet shall he live ; and whosoever liveth, and be- 
lieveth in me, shall never die. Believest thou this 1 
She saith unto him ; yea, Lord ; I believe that thou 
art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come 
into the world." When our Lord told Martha that 
her brother Lazarus should rise again, she thought 
only of the day of judgment. "I know that he 
shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 
In what our Saviour said next, he intended that 
Martha should believe, that he was now able to 
raise up her brother, and that he would do it. He 



SERMON XXV. 



153 



said, " I am the resurrection, and the life : he that 
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he 
live : and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, 
shall never die. Believest thou this]" As if he 
had said, if thou believest, that through me, all 
mankind shall rise up again, and that those who 
believe in me shall live forever ; thou shouldest be- 
lieve that I can even now raise up thy dead brother. 
And you see how immediately Martha confessed 
the fulness of her faith in our Saviour. " Yea 
Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of 
God, which should come into the world." And 
this faith, this belief, is what you, and 1, and all 
people must have, if we desire to be saved. We 
must feel sure in our hearts, that there is no Savi- 
our but Jesus Christ the Son of God ; that there is 
no name given by which we can be saved, but the 
name of Jesus ; that our hope of heaven must be 
built upon the one foundation, namely, Jesus Christ 
crucified for sin. Let us always then look to Je- 
sus, and often cry to him; " Lord I believe, help 
thou mine unbelief." 

I will not now go on any farther with the account 
of the raising of Lazarus ; but I will speak to you 
for a little time, about these most important words 
of our Saviour. " I am the resurrection." You 
know that it was said to Adam, when he sinned 
against God, " dust thou art, and unto dust thou 
shalt return." And from that time all people have 
been subject to death. But when Jesus Christ 
came, he said, " I am the resurrection " And how 
is he the resurrection % When he died upon the 
cross, he suffered for the sins of all mankind ; and 
he rose up again, shewing thereby, that his suffer- 
ings and death were sufficient to atone for all sin ; 



154 



SERMON XXV. 



shewing too, that as he rose up from the dead, so 
should all men rise up again : and what is more, it 
is he that shall raise up ail the dead at the last day. 
On these accounts our Lord said, " I am the resur- 
rection." Now is not this a matter that you should 
be seriously thinking about 'I and ought not the 
thought of it to make you lead a better and more 
religious life ] You must soon die, and be buried: 
but shall your bodies forever stay in the grave % — 
No : he that said to Martha, " J am the resurrec- 
tion," shall come again at the last day, and then 
you must rise up again. But to what shall you rise 
up % to stand on the right hand of the Judge, or on 
the left '? to hear the words " come, ye blessed of 
my Father," or, " depart from me ye cursed?" to 
be taken up to heaven, or to be driven down to 
hell % This will depend upon the life that you 
now lead. You are taught about Jesus Christ dy- 
ing for your sins and rising up again. Come to 
God continually in his name, that your sins for his 
sake may all be blotted out; and pray diligently 
for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you may now 
die to sin and rise up to lead a new and holy life ; 
and you may then hope to rise up with joy at the 
last day. 

Jesus Christ is the life : he suffered the punish- 
ment of death for all mankind, that all mankind 
might through him live for ever. And all his faith- 
ful people that have already died, shall through 
him be blessed forever : and those that are now 
alive, and are believing in him ; believing with a 
faith that makes them forsake their sins and obey 
him; shall never die : they shall for a little while 
sleep in the grave ; but their Saviour, in whom they 



SERMON XXV. 



155 



trust while they are in this world, shall awake them 
at the last day, and give them everlasting life. 

And may you become partakers of this life ? it is 
offered to you through Christ : (many of) you have 
been put into the way to arrive at it, by having 
been baptized into Jesus Christ 1 but are you living 
for it 1 This is the serious question which you 
should put to yourselves. Are you living as per- 
sons that may die before to-morrow, hoping that 
through Christ, whose obedient servants you are 
trying to be, you shall live forever ] Oh take this 
matter home to your hearts, and let it have a good 
effect upon you. Try and be more sorry for all 
past sins : try and pray more from your hearts to 
God, to forgive you your sins for Christ's sake, and 
to fill you with his Spirit : try and give up all your 
old bad ways, and serve God better ; let this be a 
daily work with you ; and through the grace of 
God helping you, you will gradually lay aside every 
weight, and the sin which does so easily beset you, 
and will run with patience the race that is set be- 
fore you, looking unto Jesus, the author and finish- 
er of our faith, who for the joy that was set before 
him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and 
is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 



SERMON XXVI. 



John xi. 43. — Jesus cried with a loud voice, Lazarus* come 
forth. 

I go on again with the account of the raising up 
of Lazarus from the grave. Our Lord, as I read 
to you the last time, had come near to Bethany, and 
Martha had gone out to meet him. Our Saviour 
told her that her brother should rise again. She 
thought immediately of the resurrection at the last 
day : when Jesus, wishing her to believe that he 
was able at any time to raise up the dead, said, " I 
am the resurrection and the life : he that believeth 
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live ; and 
whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never 
die. Believest thou this i she saith unto him, yea, 
Lord : I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of 
God, which should come into the world." " When 
Martha had said this, she went her way, and called 
Mary her sister secretly, saying, the Master is come 
and calleth for thee. As soon as she heard that, 
she arose quickly, and came unto him." You see 
how these two sisters, whom Jesus loved, went im- 
mediately to meet him, as soon as they heard that 
he was near. They were weighed down with 
sorrow on account of the death of their brother, 
and as soon as they could, they went to Jesus. — 
And Jesus, as you know, invites all that are sorrow- 
ful, all that labour and are heavy laden, to come 
to him, that they may find rest for their souls. The 



SERMON XXVI. 



157 



Christian is indeed blessed, in having such a friend 
to go to in his distress. 

We are next told, that Jesus was not yet come 
into the town, but was in that place where Martha 
met him- " The Jews then which were with her 
in the house, and comforted her, when they saw 
Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, fol- 
lowed her, saying, she goeth unto the grave to 
weep there. Then when Mary was come where 
Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, 
saying unto- him, Lord if thou hadst been here, my 
brother had not died." Mary you see spoke to 
Jesus, just as her sister Martha had done : " Lord 
if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." 
Both the sisters had a full belief in the power of 
our Lord, that he could have prevented their bro- 
ther dying. But he very soon turned their sorrow 
into joy, by shewing his power even over death 
and the grave. 

" "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and 
the Jews also weeping which came with her, he 
groaned in the Spirit, and was troubled, and said, 
where have ye laid him ? they say unto him, come 
and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, be- 
hold how he loved him!" Now my brethren, if 
you are Christians indeed, if you are really and 
truly followers of Christ, this passage of scripture 
will give you much comfort. The sight of so much 
sorrow around him ; the two sisters weeping ; the 
Jews that were with them weeping too ; made our 
Lord join them in their sorrow : he groaned in spi- 
rit ; he was troubled ; he wept. And other parts 
of the Bible teach us, that although our Saviour is 
now in heaven, he continues to be " touched with 
the feeling of our infirmities." If his people are 



158 



SERMON XXVI. 



persecuted, he is persecuted with them: if his peo- 
ple meet with troubles, he feels their troubles : if 
they are afflicted and sorrowful, he is afflicted and 
sorrowful with them. And not only this, he is al- 
ways near to help them ; he is always present to 
comfort and strengthen them. Surely the state of 
the real Christian is in every way the happiest state 
that can be. If wicked people get into troubles 
and sorrows, they have to bear the whole weight 
of their sorrows alone; but if a follower of Jesus is 
afflicted, he has his religion to comfort him ; he has 
his Saviour to lean upon ; he knows that his dear 
Lord feels his sorrow with him ; and he has peace 
and quietness in his mind, such as this world can 
never give. But if, my brethren, you would in the 
day of sorrow find the comfort of religion, it must 
be your great duty to live always according to 
God's holy will. Each day should find you repent- 
ing of your sins ; seeking diligently in prayer God's 
mercy through Christ, and the gift of his Spirit ; 
and walking steadfastly in the way of his command- 
ments. If you thus try and live to God every day, 
you would always know the comforts of his love 
and grace, whether joy or sorrow be your portion. 

We are next told, that some of the Jews who 
were present said, " could not this man, which 
opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even 
this man should not have died V As these Jews 
had seen our Lord work some great miracles, such 
as opening the eyes of the blind, we cannot be sur- 
prised at their asking this question. As they had 
known who the Lord Jesus was, they would have 
believed that he had power over all things. 

" Jesus, therefore, again groaning in himself, 
coraeth to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone 



i 



SERMON XXVI. 



159 



lay upon it. Jesus said, take ye away the stone. 
Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto 
him, Lord, by this time, he stinketh, for he hath 
been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, said I 
not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou 
shouldest see the glory of God." We observe that 
Martha could hardly bring herself to believe that 
our Lord would raise up her brother Lazarus, but 
he told her, that in what he was going to do, she 
should see that the power of God did indeed re- 
side in him. " Then they took away the stone 
from the place where the dead was laid ; and Jesus 
lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee 
that thou hast heard me ; and I know that thou 
nearest me always, but because of the people which 
stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou 
hast sent me." As soon as the stone was taken 
away, Jesus lifted up his eyes to his Father in 
heaven. He desired that his own disciples, and all 
the people that were there should give glory to 
God on account of the great miracle which he was 
going to work, and should believe in him, the Son 
of God and the Saviour of the world. He, there- 
fore, gave thanks to his heavenly Father, in the 
hearing of all the people, that they might believe 
that he had sent him. 

" And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a 
loud voice, Lazarus, come forth : and he that was 
dead came forth, bound hand and foot, with grave 
clothes ; and his face was bound about with a nap- 
kin. Jesus saith unto them, loose him, and let him 
go." Thus, at the mighty word of Jesus, the grave 
gave up its dead. At the mighty word of Jesus, 
the soul came again into this body, which had been 
dead four days. At the mighty word of Jesus, — 



160 



SERMON XXVI. 



Lazarus, that had been dead, came forth alive, and 
was restored to his sisters, whose sorrow was thus 
turned into joy. Now, my brethren, all this was 
done " for the glory of God, and that the Son of 
God might be glorified thereby." And when you 
hear this account of the raising of Lazarus read to 
you, and also the other wonderful works which 
Jesus was always doing, ought you not to praise 
and glorify our great God and Saviour 1 Surely 
you ought so to do ; but take care that you praise 
him, not only with your lips, but in your lives: 
praise him by giving yourselves up to serve him, 
by being obedient to him in every thing, by living 
a truly religious and holy life. Ask God for his 
Spirit to help you to praise him in this way, and 
you will be following the footsteps of Jesus our 
Saviour through whom we hope to be admitted 
into the glorious presence of God hereafter. 

Finally, you see how, at the word of Jesus, La- 
zarus came forth from the grave. We shall all of 
us very soon be laid in our graves. But shall we 
ever come forth from them ] Yes, at the last day 
the same Lord Jesus Christ shall come again, and 
then ail that are in their graves shall hear his voice, 
and shall come forth. You, my brethren, shall hear 
that voice; you must, at the sound of it, come forth 
from your graves, when, if you shall not be found 
fit for the holiness of heaven, you must be driven 
into the horrible depths of hell. Surely, then, you 
should be very seriously considering this matter. — 
The way to heaven is open to you through Jesus 
Christ, who died for our sins, and rose up again, 
and is now in heaven pleading for us. Be wise 
then, and while God graciously gives you the time, 
attend to the things which belong to your eternal 



SERMON XXVI. 



161 



peace. Turn to him with true repentance : serve 
him in newness of life : seek his mercy through 
Christ our Saviour ; pray diligently for his grace, 
and learn to spend the remainder of your days in 
living to his glory, and in preparing for eternal life 
in heaven. 



END. 











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